


The Cleanest Princess

by SlayerEnfiniti



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, fairy tale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-24
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-21 05:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/896152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlayerEnfiniti/pseuds/SlayerEnfiniti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is the heir to Sina, the richest kingdom in the land. But when his birth celebration goes awry, an angry witch curses the "Princess" to constantly clean. Will a knight in shining armor be able to rescue him? Will they want to, after five minutes of conversation? (HIATUS)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Celebration and Inebriation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: THIS FIC IS ON HIATUS
> 
> I have not given it up.
> 
> I'm coming back to it.
> 
> But for another month or so, don't expect any updates!

Our tale begins in a land far away, many years ago. The King and Queen of Sina, the richest kingdom in the known world, were celebrating the birth of their firstborn child, and it seemed like everyone was invited. Fairies, spellcasters, and even a troll or two made their way to to castle. Wine flowed like water, music rang through the halls, and everyone partied.

Until, more than a little tipsy, the Queen decided to dance with her wineglass. She spun around the dancefloor unsteadily, giggling, sending people scattering out of her way. Suddenly, she tripped on the hem of her sequined gown, and fell right into the arms of a visiting witch.

Her wine splattered across the witch's white silk dress.

A shriek pierced the air, and the festivities fell silent as a chill passed through the crowd. The King tried to calm the witch by offering the services of his personal cleaning fairy, but the fairy in question was so inebriated that she only succeeded on setting the witch on fire.

Enraged, the witch cast a spell on the royal infant, cursing the princess at the top of her lungs to never do anything productive with her life but clean. Then the witch gathered herself in righteous indignation and stormed out of the castle.

In the chaos that followed, it never occurred to the royals to tell anyone that the Princess... was actually a Prince.


	2. One - Dirt and Desperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A boy, a girl, and a half-pixie walk into a bar...

Some distance away and some years later, a scruffy, dirty teenager dug through what might as well have been a garbage dump. Grime covered him head to toe, but he hadn't worried about a little thing like that in years. More importantly, he hadn't been in this area for a few weeks, so with any luck... The boy gasped as he flipped over a broken board. "Mikasa! I found the mother lode! Come take a look!" The underside of the board was coated in a thick, dark green moss, courtesy of their recent spate of rain. The teenager's stomach rumbled. Eagerly, he ripped off handful after handful.

A dark head peeked over a nearby pile of rubble. "Wait, Eren!" She skidded down the pile and grabbed his hand. "Stop, stop! That's the wrong color!" She unwrapped the ratty scarf from around her neck and fished out a tiny piece of blue-green moss. "See? That one's not safe, it might make you sick."

Eren sat back in disgust. And here he'd thought he could fill his belly for once. He was a teenage boy, he was supposed to be growing. His body craved food, and lately their scavenging hadn't been enough. He tossed the handfuls of moss back on the pile and wiped his hands on the piece of cloth too hole-ridden to call a shirt. He sighed. Mikasa brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Eren..." Her black eyes stared across the wreckage of what once had been a peaceful, prosperous town. "Eren, I think we need to leave."

Eren got up and turned his back to her, rooting through another pile. "It's all the same. They didn't leave anywhere untouched, everything's wrecked."

Mikasa was quiet for a moment. "Everywhere in Maria."

Eren froze.

Mikasa ran in front of him and clasped his hand in hers. "Look at yourself, Eren! You're skin and bones. Your body can't take this much longer. You need real food, and a lot of it. Hunting for moss and roots just isn't cutting it." Tears filled her eyes. "You're wasting away in front of me. Is it worth dying for your stupid pride?" He yanked his hand out of hers. "Eren, please-"

"This is our home." He cut her off harshly. "No matter what it looks like now." His hands clenched into fists as a familiar anger flooded him. "Seven years ago, THEY took everything from us. Our families. Our friends. Our hopes. Our dreams. But they couldn't take the land itself from us. And now... you're asking me to leave the only thing I have left. To let their victory be complete."

Mikasa flinched. "Not-Not that drastic. Not permanently. The border with Rose isn't far from here. If we could sneak over and steal some food, we could come back. Once you got some strength, we might be able to actually make a home here."

Eren opened his mouth to reply, then shut it. He stared at his feet, thinking hard. The truth was, he felt weak. Hunger constantly drained him, and every action took twice as much energy as it used to. It had gotten to the point where even walking far was difficult. He looked down at his stomach, at the jutting ribs. A small voice in his head from his training a lifetime ago screamed at him that he was suffering from severe malnutrition and starvation, and that if something wasn't done soon, he'd lie down and not be able to get up. Mikasa's frame was lighter, slimmer, and somehow more durable than his own, she was faring much better than he.

Seeing his hesitation, Mikasa pushed on. "We could get you meat, Eren. Armloads of it. And, and bread, and lots of other things. I'm good at sneaking, I could steal some for you."

"No." Eren turned east and started walking. "If we're doing this for me, I'm the one doing it. Come on, we've got a ways to go before dark." Mikasa bustled to catch up with him.

"Eren, Rose is north of here."

"I know." He smiled thinly. "We're going to see Armin."

.....................................................

Getting to Armin's meant they had to cross one of the ash tracks. Picking through the piles of rubble, they came to an open space. The sight of it made Eren's stomach burn wth anger. A decade ago, this had been a fertile valley that specialized in growing fruits of all varieties. Now, it was a burned-out scar on the earth, completely dead. Even years later, not a single sprout of green graced it. 

The wind blew Eren a mothful of ash, and he coughed. Mikasa carefully wrapped her scarf around both of their face, sparing their noses and mouths from another assault. "Thanks, Mikasa."

"Hmh. At least this one's not too wide."

Eren nodded. "The sooner we cross, the better."

An hour later, they passed into the shade of the trees with relief bordering on hysteria. Eren's whole body felt raw and burned, like the land below him. They pressed on, though, and not long after they came to a small cave mouth. 

Mikasa passed through the entrance without much difficulty. Eren was surprised to find he had to wiggle to get in, against all odds he'd grown since he'd last been here. The rocks on each side claimed a few layers of skin, and he cursed as he felt a trickle of blood on his arm.

He struggled deeper into the cave, wincing as he acquired a few more scrapes. Finally, he saw light around the edges of Mikasa's form. 

"Armin," Mikasa called. "Are you home?"

A squeak. "Who's-Mikasa?! You're alive!"

Eren blushed guiltily. How long had it been since they'd seen Armin? A few months, maybe a year? Too long, obviously. He wiggled around the last corner and sighed with relief as the tunnel widened into Armin's living space. Flourescent moss covered the ceiling, illuminating the holes that riddled the walls. Each hole was stuffed with books, scrolls, and random bits of paper, except for one near the entrance that held an ordinary-looking patch of mushrooms.

For any human, it would have been a miserably cramped living space. Luckily, Armin wasn't human. At least not entirely.

"Eren!" Eren looked down to meet wide blue eyes. Armin was standing on the tips of his toes, so his head was level with Eren's waist. Armin's face was round and chubby, childish even though he was a year older than Eren.

Armin was a halfling, half human and half other. He'd never known his father, but Armin carried the lineage of some sort of forest sprite. He even had a small amount of magic, if he concentrated really hard. That bit of magic kept Armin's mushroom patch growing, providing enough nourishment that he never had to scavenge for food like Eren and Mikasa did. Instead, he scavenged for information.

"Ereeeen," Armin tugged on his sleeve, "Are you okay?! You look terrible! Come sit down!"

"I-I'm fine, really." But he allowed himself to be pulled down to the ground, sitting on a pile of blue-green moss. His stomach made an unhappy noise, but it wouldn't have been polite to eat his only remaining friend's couch.

Mikasa sat next to him. "He's right, you know, you look awful." Eren shot Mikasa a glare. She met his eyes calmly. "That's actually why we're here, Armin. We need your help."

Armin fluffed his blond hair nervously. "My help? I'm no help. I-I'm not good at anything." He brightened. "But I do have-" He dove into a nearby tunnel and started shifting papers. "I only found it yesterday, it should still be good. Ah!" Armin resurfaced, a vaguely round object in his chubby little hand. "Here! You obviously need it more than I do, Eren."

Eren stared down at the proffered item. It was a dusty pink, with one dark spot along the side. "Is that..."

"Eat it! The peaches in this part used to be legendary, you know." Eren took it, staring wide-eyed at his friend.

"I-I can't possibly... Armin, this is yours. It's an amazing find!"

Armin shook his head. "I do just fine with my mushrooms. I don't need to eat as much as you fullbloods do. Take it, I insist!"

Eren's mouth firmed. "I won't. This is yours, you should have it." 

"No way!"

Mikasa sighed. "If it's that important, just share it."

The two boys looked up in surprise.

"That would work," Eren admitted.

Armin stared down at the peach. It really wasn't that big, certainly not as big as they used to grow. "Fine, but I'm only taking a me-sized portion." He grabbed it back from Eren and took one of the daintiest bites Eren had ever seen.

"Armin, that's not-" Mikasa took the peach from Armin and shoved it into Eren's mouth.

"Eat." Fuming, Eren complied. He'd find a way to pay Armin back for it. Somehow. Find a rare book or something. The juices trickled down his chin, and he hurriedly used his fingers to catch them. 

"'s good," he mumbled. "Thanks." He sucked the flesh off the stone, careful to get every sliver.

Mikasa watched him for a moment before turning back to Armin. "We want to sneak across the border and find or steal some food. Can you help us find the best place?"

Armin stared at her. "Across the border? Well... I don't know. I've never left, either."

Eren popped the stone out into his hand, saving it. "Yeah, but you know all the stories! Tales and stuff from outside Maria. Do any of them say anything about Rose?"

"Well... actually, there is something. Not in Rose, but supposedly in Sina, just past where all three borders meet, there's supposed to be a forest where the animals are so friendly you can kill a deer with your bare hands."

Eren's mouth watered. Deer. He remembered having venison as a kid, a few of his father's charges had paid in meat. "That's in Sina?" Armin turned and fished out a map, then unfolded it between them. 

"Yeah. About two hours' walk inside, in a place called the Forest of the Giant Trees."

Eren grinned, looking down at the map. The sugar was working its way into his system, and he felt ready for anything. "Alright. Then that's where we'll go."

The small boy tugged on his lip. "It's supposed to be really hard to find, though."

Eren scoffed. "How hard can it be to find a bunch of 'Giant Trees'? They'll stand out from a mile away." He hauled himself to his feet. "Thanks, Armin, you've been a great help."

"One more thing," Armin said, "The forest. It's supposed to be the home of the long-lost Princess. The cursed one."

Mikasa hmmed. "I remember that. Sina's royal heir. Is she still not fixed, then?"

"Impossible to tell, with things the way they are." Armin caught Eren's sleeve. "Just... be careful, okay? Curses are tricky. Don't be rash, or reckless, or who am I kidding of course you will be." Eren had to laugh at that.

"Come on, that story was before we were even born. If she did exist, she'd be a rickety old spinster by now. But she won't exist. I'll get over the border, hunt a few things, and be back before you know it."

With that, they waved goodbye to Armin and shimmied out of the cave. Eren left behind a few more pieces of skin, but they set off toward the Tripoint, the point where all three borders met.


	3. Cattails and Complications

The border between the three kingdoms came into view as the sun set. Rose, north of Maria, was a scene of gently sloping hills. Sina, to the west, was mountainous, giant peaks rising to the sky. Eren realized that it wasn't going to be as easy to find the forest as he'd originally thought. Maria was almost completely flat, with a few hills and valleys here and there. Sina was thick with mountains, an entire forest could hide between the peaks without any trouble. He kept quiet, though, he didn't want to discourage Mikasa. She was gripping his hand as if it was a lifeline. They stopped not far from the Tripoint.

The Tripoint itself was marked with a giant crystal, twice as tall as Eren and several times as wide. It shimmered in pink and orange in the sunset, but the stone itself was clear. He'd heard a tale about it once. Something about a peace pact?

"Eren." Mikasa fiddled with her scarf with her free hand. "Maybe we should wait until morning?"

He shook his head. "I want to do this now. I'll be careful, I'll come back as soon as I can." 

Mikasa was quiet for a few seconds.

"Maybe you should stay over there for a little while... I'll be okay as long as you're okay." Eren knew that cost her a lot to say. She was his foster sister, taken in after her parents had been killed, and since then they'd never spent more than a day apart. But he was seventeen. Old enough to care for himself, even if he hadn't been doing a good job so far.

Besides, his heart was already racing at the thought of exploring an unknown land. "Alright. Give me... two weeks?" She nodded, eyes on the ground. "I'll meet you back here in two weeks."

Without warning, she threw her arms around him. He staggered under her weight. "Eren," she breathed. "Be careful, please. I don't want to lose my brother." He hugged her back, nestling his face into her hair. Wetness fell on his neck, and he felt her shudder. "Please, please, Eren, come back to me."

"Of course I will." After a long minute, he gently tugged himself out of her embrace. "See you soon, little sister."

And in the fading light of the dying day, he slipped past the Tripoint.

He staggered in shock. The ground beneath him felt alive, alive in a way Maria hadn't been in years. Life pulsed all around him. A small flower got crushed beneath his dirty, bare foot, and he just about cried out from the shock of it. It was a good thing the border with Maria was unguarded, or he'd have been caught right then and there. He couldn't move.

"Eren?" A breath of sound from behind him. He didn't have to look to know that Mikasa was still watching.

He shook his head vigorously to clear it. "I'm okay," he whispered back. He forced himself to take one step forward, then another. "See you." 

He opened his stride into an easy jog, heading off toward the setting sun. It seemed like only a few steps before the Tripoint was swallowed by the scenery, and with it the small, dark head of his only family, patiently waiting for his return. No point looking back now, he thought grimly. He was alone. Alone in a strange land, chasing a story. Chasing an adventure.

Maybe he would die here, he mused as he ran. Mikasa would wait for him for a while, he was sure. But what would she do if he never came back? His eyes burned as he thought of her waiting by the Tripoint, week after week. He couldn't die. He had to return.

He felt the firm resolve of a solid purpose steady him. Get in, get food, get out. Step one was finding the forest. He could do that.

By his best guess, he made it about half the way before he had to stop. Full night had fallen, but the moon was caught behind one of the hills he'd already passed. The valley was dark, and so dark he could barely see the nose on his face. When he ran into his third tree, he sat at the base of it. The ground tilted under him, trying to pull him farther toward the valley bottom.

Alone in the dark, his mind chose that moment to kick into high gear. Maria was devoid of life at almost any level. No prey animals, but also no predators. Here, with the land practically singing around him, it was different. He could hear small scurrying noises all around him, so it followed that there would be... bigger things. He needed to be able to sleep safely.

With a sigh, he stood and blindly groped at the tree he was next to. He found a branch thick enough to hold him, so he lifted himself up, arm muscles screaming. Finally he got a leg over the branch. Well, he thought, now I'm a few feet up. He sighed again and carefully stood, reaching up to see if there was another branch. There was. Once more he hefted himself up. He draped his legs over the branch and settled against the trunk. He dared not go any higher in case he fell in the night. He needed to be able to get food tomorrow, and a broken arm or leg would mean his death for sure. The tree smelled sweet, and he wondered sleepily if it had any fruit on it. That was a question for the morning, though. He shut his eyes and was almost instantly asleep.

He woke slowly to the unfamiliar sound of birdcall. Carefully he cracked open one eye. The first touches of color graced the sky, though the sun hadn't made it above the hills. He inhaled, taking in the sweet scent of the tree he was in, as well as other, fainter scents he didn't know. His whole field of vision was shades of green, tree after tree growing tall and proud. This was how it was supposed to be, he thought. He brought his arms up above his head and stretched.

When he went to sit up, though, he found the back of his shirt was stuck to the tree. A gooey substance glued him down. "Oh, for the love of..." He tugged and tugged, eventually pulling himself free. In the process, though, his hands, pants, and face got gooed, too. "This is great. Just great."

He dropped back onto the ground and looked back up at the tree in disgust. It didn't even have the decency to have fruit or berries or anything like that.

By the base of the tree, though, was a trailing vine spotted with dark berries. Eren perked up as he recognized them. Blackberries! He maneuvered around the cruel thorns, picking as many as he could safely get. The berries ran out just as both hands were full, and Eren popped one into his mouth. It exploded in juice, prompting a coughing fit. Dark juice dribbled down his face, but with both hands occupied he had to let it go. He bit more carefully into the second one, and was awarded with the sweetest mouthful he could remember having. Eren ate another, and another, until one handful was gone. By that time, the sun had peeked over the edge of the hill, so he set off again, this time away from the sun. 

At the bottom of the valley, a thick, strong river flowed. Eren grinned as he saw the gently waving heads of a couple dozen cattails lining the shores. Forget hunting, he'd get fat just on the plants!

He picked his way down to the cattails and started pulling off the heads. If only he had a bag or something! He could hoard these, bring them back to Mikasa, even. Eren sighed. He stuffed the last few blackberries in his mouth and concentrated on his task. He concentrated so hard on the heads, he wasn't careful about placing his feet. One foot strayed a little too close to the edge, and that was it. With a shout, he was pitched headfirst into the river, scattering his hard-earned food.

Eren gasped and flailed, desperate to stay on the surface. The current was fast, pulling him under and pushing him around like nothing. A rock struck his back, and he inhaled water. Another rock struck his head, and blackness claimed him.

..........................................................

Eren groaned as he struggled back toward wakefulness. His legs were still being tugged on by the river, but his torso and head were mercifully still.

"Hey."

Eren's eyes snapped open and the world spun. His stomach lurched and his head throbbed. He let out a little whimper and clamped his eyes shut again. There was a dull roar in his ears. After a deep breath, he cracked a single eyelid. A dark figure was standing over him. "Nghmhah?" Eren asked.

"The hell does that mean?" A foot nudged his shoulder. "Get up, you're soiling the river."

Eren swallowed carefully, his throat was raw. "I said," he rasped, "Where am I?" Throbbing head aside, he felt a little more alert, so he opened his other eye and the figure above him came into focus. A man glared down at him, arms crossed, a man in a white shirt and white pants. Who'd be crazy enough to wear white?

The man studied him carefully. "You're in Sina." The man sighed. "In the Forest of the Giant Trees."

Eren's eyes widened. "I... I am? Really?"

The man growled. "No, I'm shitting you, you're dead and I'm an angel. Now get up, it's disgusting me to even look at you."

Eren struggled a little, but his muscles felt disconnected. "I... I don't think I can. Ngh. Hit my head pretty hard." He closed his eyes again and willed himself to get up. It didn't work.

He heard a sigh, and hands grabbed his shoulders, hauling him out of the river mud. "Fine, I guess I don't have a choice."

"W-Wait!" Eren's eyes flew open as he was unceremoniously tossed over the man's shoulder. "You're..." He stared down the line of a strongly muscled back, outlined in white fabric that was becoming less white by the second. "I'm getting you dirty!"

A huff of annoyance, and they were moving, Eren bouncing up and down in a sickening way. "No shit, Sherlock. I can't believe you managed to figure that out."

Eren tried to look over his shoulder at the man, but a muscle in his back seized when he tried. "But your shirt..." It was far too late, the river muck had slid down and there was nothing to do about it now.

Another huff. This one sounded more amused than annoyed. "It'll clean. I'm rather good at cleaning."

Eren swallowed hard. The rocking motion of the man's walk and the fact that a shoulder was digging into his gut weren't doing wonders for his condition. "Um, I'm... not feeling great..."

"Hell no, kid, you are NOT going to barf on my butt. We're almost there."

He didn't dare ask where. Eren just concentrated on breathing in and out, trying not to let nausea get the best of him. The roar in his ears started to fade, to his relief. After what felt like an eternity, they slowed, then stopped. The sound of a door opening. The man walked forward a few steps, and Eren saw a hardwood floor.

The man set him down gently, but the world still spun around Eren. He was in the entranceway of a cabin, as far as he could tell. The walls were wood, the floor was wood, and everything shone. The few furnishings he could see had been polished until they gleamed, and Eren was acutely aware of the river mud pooling beneath him as he sat on the floor.

The man stepped back, rubbing his hands up his arms like he was cold. Eren noticed guiltily that his shirt was streaked with... stuff... and his pants hadn't entirely escaped it either. The man was staring at Eren through narrowed eyes.

"So. I think I know well enough how you got here. I came out of my house in time to hear you screaming at the top of your lungs as you dropped practically at my doorstep. But who are you, and why are you here?"

Eren gulped. "I-I'm Eren. Eren Yeager."

The man nodded, then pursed his lips thoughtfully. After a brief hesitation, he looked away. "I'm Levi."


	4. Bathtubs and Backaches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HNGH Levi is so fun to write.

The moment Levi set eyes on the ragged, filthy boy, he knew this was his next project. Dirty. The all-too-familiar itch crawled up his arms, sharpening his temper as he fought it back. Dirty. Dirty. He needed to clean it. He rubbed his arms again, watching the boy. Eren.

"Um..." Gratitude. Fear. Concern. Shame. Curiosity. Eren was an open book, as far as Levi was concerned. "...Why exactly am I in your house, Mr. Levi?" Eren's shoulders hunched a little.

Levi slowly let out his breath. He couldn't fight back hard enough. Too dirty. "First, I'm getting you clean. We'll go from there." He stood and walked to the nearest door, the one that led to the single most-used room in the cabin. "Just... try not to move for a minute. I'll be back."

He yanked open the door, and was greeted by a wave of steam. A giant cauldron that came past his waist bubbled gently over a fire in the middle of the room. Hot water. The only thing keeping him sane. Levi sighed and tugged over the washtub. If it was big enough for him to bathe in, it should be good enough for Eren. Levi tugged on a pair of thick gloves and carefully tipped the cauldron, filling the tub with boiling water. Why had it been a person this time? They'd been so careful to pick an area that was devilishly hard to get to, their only visitors had been animals. Animals weren't complicated. Animals were easy to clean up after. Humans were complicated.

Levi groaned. He had a bad feeling that Eren was going to take more care than that badger he'd found a few weeks ago. Well, no helping it now. Eren was here, and that was it.

The tub was almost full. Levi centered the giant cauldron again, then walked to the corner of the room and start priming the hand pump. Hopefully by the time he was done with the boy, that water would be hot enough for a bath of his own. He didn't even want to THINK about his shirt right now, Eren needed to come first.

He filled the cauldron again, then added a little of the cold, clear water to the tub. Hot was good. Boiling, not so much. Water duties done, he reached onto the top shelf. Bottle after bottle of soaps, cleaners, and shampoos. Sponges. A handkerchief off the stack to tie back his hair, not that it would help since he was already dirty. Levi arranged everything next to the tub, and he was ready for Eren. 

Levi poked his head out the door and saw Eren sitting exactly where he'd been left, staring at the floor. "Hey." Eren jumped, color flooding his cheeks. "Can you walk yet? I've got a tub ready."

Eren got on all fours, then started to lift himself to his feet. Halfway up, he froze. After a second, he lowered himself back to sit on the floor. Eren looked up at Levi, shame on his face. "I-I think I might have injured something. My back..."

Of course he had. Levi fought back a growl. "Alright." He crossed the room and lifted Eren up. The kid was way too light, he noticed. Bony. Skinny. A moment later, he gently lowered Eren into the tub. Eren squeaked. 

"Hot!" Levi smirked as he scooped up some of the water and dumped it over Eren's head.

"Of course it is. Cleaning with cold water is shit. Close your eyes next time." Eren sputtered and wiped at his eyes. "Give me an arm." 

Eren was too intimidated to do anything but obey. Levi got that all the time from animals, it was nice to know it worked on kids, too. Levi poured a little liquid soap on a sponge and ran it gently up the proffered arm. Eren was so dirty, he could be hurt pretty bad and Levi wouldn't be able to tell. The sponge came away almost black, and Levi tossed it over his shoulder in disgust. A fresh sponge later, and Levi thought he could see tan skin. 

"Other arm." That one was almost as dirty. But what Levi was starting to realize was that Eren's arms really were too skinny. Skin stretched taut over bone unhealthily. His wrist was so thin Levi's fingers could fit around it. He tossed another sponge away. "Hey, kid. You're what, thirteen?"

Eren made a small sound. Levi looked up to meet furious green eyes. "I'm seventeen!" Levi froze. Seventeen. This scrap of life with every bone sticking out was supposed to be seventeen. Eren tugged his arm back, and looked at his own arm like he'd never seen it before. "I... well, it's been kind of rough for a while." Sadness dimmed his face. "I really am a mess, aren't I?" Levi snorted, moving behind Eren and starting to lather Eren's hair.

"Kid, I'm an expert in messes. You're caked in mud an inch thick in some places. I'm-Is that sap? Ugh, there's sap in your hair. Anyway. You're the biggest mess I've seen in a long time." Levi rinsed Eren's hair and looked down at the murky water in the tub. "...One tub's not going to be enough." He helped Eren stand, and Eren leaned heavily against the wall while Levi dumped and refilled the water.

"Should I take my clothes off?" Levi narrowed his eyes, studying Eren harder. His arm kept working, pumping up another refill for the cauldron. 

"Are you wearing clothes?" Eren turned red and nodded. "In that case, they're probably not going to be salvagable. Go ahead and strip, drop your clothes in the corner, I'll find you something to wear once we're done." Eren turned redder and obeyed. Sighing, Levi stripped off his dirty shirt and left it by the pump. The pants he could ignore for a while.

Levi lathered Eren's hair again, and fought back a smile when Eren leaned blissfully into his hands. Levi carefully threaded his hands across Eren's scalp, pausing when he came to a lump. "Ah. There's part of your problem." He dumped more water over Eren's head.

Eren tilted his head back, eyes closed. "Doesn't really hurt too much. My back does, but I think the water's helping it." Levi gently pushed Eren forward and sponged off Eren's back.

"Here?"

"Lower-Ngh!" Levi cleaned off the dirt as gently as he could, uncovering a rapidly-darkening bruise big enough he couldn't cover it even with both of his hands. He whistled. 

"Damn, that's bad. Do you know what happened?" Levi cleaned Eren's sides, smirking when Eren jumped a little, wriggling under Levi's sponge.

"I think I might have hit a rock or two. That river's awful."

"It's not the best for swimming in, I'll admit. Especially-Mmm. Tub change again." He bit back what he wanted to say. More soiled water drained away, and Levi played shuffle-the-Eren again.

The third wash revealed Eren's hair to be brown, not the black Levi had assumed. Bruises and scrapes spotted his arms and legs. Eren's shoulders were wider than his own, but Eren's frame had nothing but bone. The sponge skittered off ribs, and Levi felt sick with sympathy. Injuries catalogued, Levi focused on the ingrained dirt, scrubbing until Eren yelped. But some things could only be put off so long.

"Hey. Eren. Why are you here?" 

Eren flinched. 

"Look, I don't want to pry, but I'm isolated out here for a reason. Frankly, you look like shit. Someone in your condition doesn't just decide to go wandering." Eren hunched over in the tub, wrapping his arms around his knees. Levi sighed. "Look, I just need to know if you came looking for me deliberately."

Eren's bewildered expression was the only answer he needed. "Looking... for you? No. Why would I? I just-" He bit off the rest of his sentence. Levi let the silence stretch for a minute while Eren stared down at his arms. "It's... probably a long story." Levi stood.

"Alright. I think I've got you as clean as I can without taking all of your skin off. Let's get you dried off." Eren managed to stand with Levi's help, but he wasn't in any shape to go anywhere. Levi nabbed a towel and dried Eren's hair, sliding a hand around Eren's waist when he staggered.

"S-Sorry." Levi shook his head and kept drying, carefully not-looking at anything below the waist. 

"There." Levi draped the towel around Eren's waist and helped the taller boy out into the main room again. 

Predictably, incredibly, frustratingly, the first thing that caught Levi's eye was the puddles on the ground. Dirty. Dirty. The itch was back in full force. He fought it. He was strong. Dirty. He didn't need to clean. Dirty. Levi bit his lip, gnawing on it to distract himself until he got Eren into a chair. "Now. Are you hungry?" Looking at Eren's condition, he'd force-feed the boy if he had to, but it was polite to ask first.

Eren kept his eyes low. "Um... a little, maybe?"

Not a healthy response. Levi's mouth got dry. The cleaning impulse was gone, swallowed with a concern so strong it bordered on fear. "Eren. What have you eaten today?" He saw the flinch. Knew what it meant. 

"I-I-I had some blackberries for breakfast!" Levi leaned on the table.

"And the day before that?"

"... I had a peach."

Levi waited. Eren didn't say anything more.

"Just a peach?"

Eren's ears were red. "Hon-honestly not even a whole peach. I shared it a bit. But... yeah."

"Day before that."

Silence. Levi's stomach churned.

He sighed. He walked to the counter and opened a drawer, pulling out half a loaf of bread. "I can't cook, but let's start with this." He tossed it to Eren, who caught it with surprisingly good reflexes. Those amazingly green eyes widened.

"Bread?! I-I-Oh, Thank you!" Eren ripped off a piece and crammed it in his mouth, spraying crumbs all over the table. Levi winced.

"Now. How the hell did you get in such bad condition? A seventeen-year-old should be able to provide for themselves, even if just by manual labor."

Eren shoved another piece of bread into his mouth. "This is soo good! Mmf, bread... This is really amazing!" He stared at the bread like it was the best thing since, well, bread. That also just happened to not let him meet Levi's eyes.

Levi waited. Getting the kid fed was more important than getting answers, he knew. But the itching was getting worse, so if he couldn't get the kid talking he'd have to give in to it. "Alright, fine. Finish that. Chew, and eat it slowly enough you're not gonna barf it back up. I've got a mess to clean."

Eren dutifully slowed, and Levi busied himself wiping up the entranceway. Every swipe of the cloth soothed him, one part of his world clicking back into place. The only benefit of his life as it was, Levi mused, was the satisfaction that came from something as simple as wiping up a spill.

"Mr. Levi?" He looked up to see Eren with empty hands.

"Levi's fine. Done already?" Eren nodded. "Alright. Hold on, I'll get you something to drink." 

Eren blushed a little. "You've done enough, I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Levi growled. "I am NOT going to have you keeling over dead on my kitchen floor because you're too proud to let me take care of you." Eren's blush darkened.

At that moment, Levi heard a sound outside. He strained his ears and recognized the pattern of footfalls.

"Oh, one more thing." He sighed. "I don't live alone. Unfortunately. Sounds like she's back, and... well... sorry in advance." Eren frowned.

"What do you-"

SLAM. "Levi, I'm back and you won't OH MY SOCK why is there a naked boy in our kitchen?!"

Levi sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Eren, Hanji. Hanji, Eren. Your experiment failed, by the way. Rather spectacularly."

Hanji peered at Eren from behind her glasses, but on Levi's last line she turned abruptly to face him. "What?! No! It was perfect! How could it-wait, which one?"

Levi groaned. Eren already looked like he wanted to hide, and Levi didn't feel much different. "The Hey-Levi-let's-move-to-a-deserted-place-nothing-could-possibly-go-wrong one. Meet your result. He got launched off the top of the waterfall and nearly landed on me. He was FILTHY." Hanji's eyes were getting wider and wider. "He's also injured and mostly-starved, so he'll be staying with us a while."

"Wait, waterfall?!" Eren squeaked. "So the river... I... what?!" Levi took a rag to the table and started wiping up crumbs.

"Didn't I mention that?" Levi knew very well he hadn't, but Eren's expression was just too good not to milk it a little. "Not a very big one, though. It's only about fifty feet high-" Eren looked like someone had hit him over the head. "-ah. Anyway. Eren, this is Hanji. She does everything around here I can't, so I put up with her."

Hanji took off her cloak and draped it carefully in the 'approved' area. "Nice to meet you, Eren. Levi, I found that valerian, so I'll be able to try again whenever you want."

Levi closed his eyes briefly. "I've barely recovered from your last try. And now, I need to go wash. Badly. Eren, Hanji can get you some clothes, she's near enough to your size something will work. Hanji, do NOTHING with him until I get back." She looked like she was about to say something. "Nothing. Other than getting him some tea, clothes, and maybe something else to eat."

With some trepidation, he shut himself in the washing room. Hopefully Eren could survive Hanji for a little while. The tub had to be cleaned before it could clean him, but that went fast enough. Soon he was neck-deep in hot water and thinking.

So they'd escalated to humans. He frowned. He'd been so sure he was getting stronger at fighting the curse back, was this retribution for that? Was he just looking into it too much? Coincidences did exist, though they were rare. He rejected that thought. Eren had to have been dragged in by the curse. Poor kid. When Levi'd first seen him he'd thought he would have to look up funeral rites and track down whoever'd tossed a corpse on him. Ah, well. That would change now that he was under Levi's care. Mentally he resigned himself to at least two weeks' hard work taking care of Eren. Maybe more. On top of what he normally did. Why couldn't his life be boring?

There was a BANG from the kitchen.

Levi groaned.


	5. Headaches and Helpfulness

Eren returned to consciousness in stages. The first thing he was aware of were sounds. Voices. Two of them.

"....'nothing' too hard... concept for you?!"

"...sure it would work... nettles and..."

Eren's world solidified a bit more.

"If you kill him I swear I'll toss you out and I'll just figure out a way to be on my own." Levi's cool voice was madder than Eren had ever heard it. Of course, since they'd met a couple hours ago that didn't mean much.

"That's an empty threat and you know it. Eren said his head was still hurting. I might have fixed it." Hanji's voice was flippant.

"And you might not have! He'd heal eventually on his own, you didn't have to- I think he moved."

Eren's fingers had twitched. Eren tried again, and felt them curl. Footsteps. Someone next to him. "Eren. You alive?"

He would dearly have loved to give a sarcastic reply, but he couldn't seem to make his tongue work. "Nmhgo Imma." A snort. That had to be Levi.

"Yep, he's gonna be fine." Eren opened his eyes to see Levi, clad only in a towel, leaning over him, glaring at Hanji. "No thanks to you." Eren blinked and hastily looked away. Surprisingly, this didn't hurt his head. 

"What... happened?"

Hanji sighed. "I might have possibly messed up the formula just slightly. That kind of thing tends to happen." Then she brightened. "So how are you feeling? Dizziness? Fever? Homicidal rage?"

He carefully pushed himself into a sitting position. Levi moved back to accommodate. "Actually... My head doesn't hurt anymore." Hanji crowed in delight.

"It worked!" 

Eren's back spasmed, and he hissed, leaning forward. "Ah. Ngh. Back still hurts." Levi helped him up and back into the chair, while Hanji ran back to the kitchen. He seemed completely unconcerned with his state of undress, maybe because Eren himself still had only a towel on.

"Back pain. For that the nettle ratio is 14:3? Or is it 15:7..." She opened cupboards and pulled out various bits and pieces. Eren shot Levi a desperate, pleading look. Levi gave him the tiniest of nods.

"Oi. Glasses. You are NOT shoving another of your concoctions down his throat. He needs rest, and on the kitchen floor isn't the best place for that." Levi sat in the other chair at the table. "FYI, kid. Don't trust ANYTHING Hanji gives you that she's tinkered with. Her successes are... rare. The side effects aren't worth it." Hanji made a noise of dissent. "One time she tried to cure a headache I had. Fixed it, sure, but I had a tail for three days."

Eren studied Levi's face for signs of humor. "No."

Hanji giggled. "A big, fluffy one. It was cute." The glare Levi gave her could have melted rock. "Well it was!" She carried three cups carefully over to the table. "Here. Bog-standard mint tea, I promise."

Eren sipped carefully at the hot beverage. "This is good!"

There were only two chairs, so Hanji leaned against the counter to sip her own drink. A comfortable silence filled the air while all three drank their tea. Aside from the awkwardness Eren felt by not being fully dressed, it was actually pretty nice in the cabin. Honestly, he shouldn't be concerned at all, the clothes he had been wearing were so old and ragged they barely counted as clothes.

Levi hadn't even thought he was wearing clothes. Eren's cheeks burned at the thought.

"Alright, kid. I need your story now." Eren jumped at the sound of his voice, and in the process spilled part of his still-warm tea on himself.

"Ah!" Quick as a flash, Levi was up and grabbing a rag. "I'm sorry! I..." Levi ignored him, focusing on the spill with single-minded passion. That... was weird. "Um... Levi?"

Levi looked up, looking like a child caught in a misdeed. "Ah. Hold on, almost done." He wiped the rag down Eren's arm. "There."

Eren frowned as Levi returned to the chair. He suddenly wouldn't meet Eren's eyes. He had a thing with cleaning, Eren would have to be a fool not to see it in this sparkling, polished cabin, but it seemed a little... overzealous. "I could have gotten that myself, you know."

Hanji grinned, mischief on her face. "Funny story, that. Why don't we exchange stories? That sounds like great fun!" Levi shot her a deathglare. "Oh, fine, Eren can go first. Spoilsport."

Eren hunched over a little in his seat, feeling his back twinge again. "I... Well..." He stopped, not knowing where to begin.

Levi crossed his arms and sat back in the chair. "We'll start simple. Eren Yeager. Where are you from?"

Eren looked into his cup as if it held the secrets of the universe. He'd delayed as long as he could. "I'm... from Maria." Both Hanji and Levi stiffened. "From the capital, Shinganshana."

Hanji leaned on the table, her tea forgotten. "From as in originally from, or from as in just now from?"

Eren felt heat rise to his face. "Both."

"Ah." Levi said. Eren and Hanji turned to him. "That explains your condition. You've been trying to live off the land?"

Eren's blush deepened. "Yeah. 'Trying' being the key word there. I, uh, wasn't doing so hot. As you might have noticed. My... friends, I guess, though they're more like family, they said I needed to go somewhere I could recover a little. We want to try to rebuild Maria, at least a little corner of it, but I'm the only full-size male, so they need me to be able to lift and stuff."

Hanji whistled. "That's quite the project. How many of you are there still living over there?" Eren shook his head.

"I don't know. There used to be a lot of us scavenging, but... well... Mikasa, Armin, and I might be... the only ones left..." He tried not to think about it too much, tried not to think about an entire nation of people either dead or fled.

Hanji's voice was quiet. "Your family?" 

Eren closed his eyes. "My dad was a doctor. Is. Maybe. I don't know. My mom's dead. Mikasa's my adopted sister, and Armin's my best friend."

Eren opened his eyes again and looked at Levi, who'd been remarkably quiet through the exchange. He saw a shudder go through Levi's frame before he pushed himself to his feet and walked to another door.

"Levi?"

Levi rubbed his arms. "I-I'll be back. I've got to... I need to..." He walked into the other room, not-quite slamming the door behind him.

Eren turned to Hanji, nonplussed. She smiled a sad little smile and took the empty seat. "He'll be back in a bit. He just needs to collect himself." Eren frowned.

"He's a little strange." That startled a laugh out of her.

"Oh, more than a little. Unfortunately, it's not my place to tell you about him. My turn! I'm Hanji Zoe, and I'm a witch!"

Eren choked on his tea. "You're what?!"

She did her best fake-cackle at him. "Well, in truth I'm only a marginally successful one. But my family's been serving..." She coughed. "Levi's family for a long time." Eren logged away her odd pause on the growing list of Levi-problem-questions. "Anyway, Levi's helpless on his own, so when he moved out, I moved with him! And I really do have better success with my potions than he makes it out to be, really they hardly ever truly fail. And as long as the objective is accomplished, who cares about a few side effects? Why, this one time I-"

Eren sighed.

..............................................................

Levi sunk to the ground, back to the door. Violent shudders racked his body. He scratched and scratched his arms. The itch was taking over everything, he could barely even think. He was in so much trouble. 

So this was it? His big challenge? His test? Screw it. There was no way. He'd die of old age before he even got close.

Rebuild Maria.

An entire country, stripped of all of its resources, a crumbling ruin.

Rebuild it.

Clean it.

Hell.

Levi tilted his head back and laughed and laughed and laughed.


	6. Honesty and Honest Tea

"Here, try these on!" Eren caught the pants on reflex. Hanji leaned back into the wooden chest, digging through more clothes. "Shirt... shirt... maybe this one?" Another toss, and Eren retreated to the corner. Hanji's eyes tracked him.

"Um, Miss Hanji... could you not look?"

She laughed. "Sorry, sorry! I just don't get to see people with a body condition like yours often. Does your skin hurt where it's stretched like that?" She politely turned her back.

Eren had to think about it for a moment. "No. My skin hurts all over now, but that's because someone got a little carried away with a scrub brush." Another laugh. The fabric of the pants was smooth. Eren ran his fingers over it appreciatively before lifting a leg. "Ah!" Hanji caught him as he overbalanced and nearly fell. 

"Easy there. Balance still not great, I take it?" Eren nodded. "Alright. Let me help."

Ears burning, Eren pulled the pants on with Hanji's assistance. He suddenly had a fierce need to get better, if only to be able to dress himself with dignity.

"How's the fit?" Eren shrugged, tugging the shirt over his head.

"They're fine." As he said it, though, the pants started to slip, exposing a sharp hipbone. "On second thought... Do you have a belt?" The shirt hung on his thin frame, but the sleeves were the right length, so Eren supposed it fit. Hanji threaded a belt around his hips.

"There. Much better!" Eren had to agree. Levi and Hanji both seemed like nice enough people, but he hadn't known them long, and clothes made him feel more... safe? It was a silly thing to think, but it was true.

"Thank you." A wave of dizziness washed over him and he swayed.

"Now, let's get you to bed. A nice nap will be just the thing to make you feel better!" Eren turned a little red. 

"Do... do you have a bed to spare? I could sleep on the floor, it's-"

"Eren! You're hurt and you're a guest, there's no way you're sleeping on the floor! My bed will do just fine. I'm not planning on sleeping anytime soon, so go ahead and relax!"

Eren sat carefully on the edge of the bed, wanting to protest. But the bed sunk delightfully under him, hugging his shape. A real bed. He hadn't slept in a real bed since- His mind shied away from the memory. "...Thank you. Again. Really." He carefully laid down, rolling onto his side. He usually slept on his back, but that wasn't an option right now.

Hanji gave him a cheerful wave as she took the towel and left the room. "Sleep well, Eren!" The door shut behind her with a quiet click. 

Eren's mind was whirling. So much had changed in such a short time... his slip, the river (he didn't remember a waterfall, Levi had to be joking), Levi finding him. And now, for the first time in forever, he was warm, clean, and full, lying on a pillow. Eren smiled. For now, he wouldn't worry about the future. For now, he wouldn't worry about those he left behind, or about his mysterious rescuer. He slept.

...............................................................................

Hanji shut the door behind her and turned toward the fourth room, Levi's 'project' room. She knocked on it, but got no answer. She pushed the door open. A startled squawk and two shrill screeches assaulted her ears. The pigeon divebombed her head, but she waved it off. "Levi?"

"Here."

Levi was on all fours, scrubbing at the wood flooring. He hadn't even had time to put on decent clothes, and Hanji could see angry red streaks up his arms. She sucked in a breath. She knew what those meant. Levi moved to the first nestbox, emptying its contents into a small bowl while he cleaned. Hanji sighed.

"Levi... Tell me you're not thinking what I'm afraid you're thinking." Levi took his rag and wiped out the box. Silence. "Levi..."

"I can't tell you that until I know what the hell you're talking about." He refused to look at her, and that was answer enough.

"Levi!" She put a hand on his shoulder. "You'd need dozens of people to be able to even start cleaning it, you just don't have enough manpower to do it on your own." Levi growled at her, continuing to wipe out the second nestbox. "No! You couldn't even handle the palace and-"

"That was a long time ago, I was young."

"I can't believe you're even entertaining this idea. Some things really are impossible, you know!"

"I know." His hand stilled. "I know." He repeated it like he was trying to convince himself. "It just... caught me off-guard." Levi gently returned the nest to its home. "By the way, we need more sponges."

"Already?!"

.......................................

Eren woke in darkness, suddenly and completely awake. His heart pounded, blood hot in his veins. He gasped for breath. He needed to... needed to... it had been a dream. He lay flat on his back in the pitch-black, unfamiliar room. He sighed.

He rolled onto his side again and tried to go to sleep again, but his body was done with sleep for a while. With a groan, he pushed the covers off and got to his feet. His back twinged a little, but it was definitely better than it had been. How long had he been asleep? With outstretched hands, he made his way to the door by feel and slowly, silently opened it a crack. Light emanated from the kitchen, and he froze when he heard Hanji's voice.

..........................................

Levi leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh. Everything in the cabin was finally, finally clean, other than Hanji's room which he couldn't get to because Eren was sleeping there. The itch was finally back to bearable levels. Levi himself was tired, angry, and hungry. The curse hadn't kept him cleaning for so long in years.

"That was a bad one, huh?" Hanji stirred a pot of stew in the kitchen. She shot him a knowing look. "Was it because of Eren?"

Levi shook his head. "Not entirely. It's been a while since I've had an episode." He sighed. "That kid, though..." He ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the right words. "I get a weird vibe from him. Something's not right with him, besides the obvious."

Hanji added a sprig of something to the pot, still stirring. "It's been a while since you've interacted with anyone but me and Mike. I personally think he's kinda cute, in a please-take-care-of-me puppy-dog way." When Levi didn't respond, she set down the stirring spoon and joined him at the table. "He's also from Maria, there's decent odds he saw what happened when the Titans came through. That would be enough to mess anyone up a little, let alone a kid."

"I don't know..."

Hanji leaned forward and put her hands over Levi's. "You should tell him about yourself, you know. He gave us his story, it's only fair."

"Puh. I have a chance to clean him up and possibly save his life if he stays here long enough, and you want me to tell him that I'm cursed? He'll run."

There was a gasp behind him, a quiet intake of breath that hit Levi like a bucket of cold water. He twisted in his seat to see Eren standing behind him in too-loose clothes, eyes wide and hair disheveled.

"S-Sorry! I just... bathroom..." Eren scooted around the room to the cleaning room, assuming (correctly) that it doubled as the bathroom. As the door shut behind Eren, Levi groaned.

"Great. Just great. There goes that." Hanji got back up and started stirring the pot again.

"Now you HAVE to talk to him," she said, a smug little smile on her face. Levi muttered unkind things at her.

A few moments later, the door opened and Eren entered the main room again. Though he didn't look directly at Levi, Levi saw a myriad of emotions cross Eren's face. Curiosity warred with caution mixed with sadness.

There really was no helping it. "Hey. Come sit, Hanji's almost got the food ready." 

Eren moved woodenly to the chair, but stayed standing behind it. "Are... Are you really cursed?"

"Yes."

Eren nodded, eyes down. "That... explains a lot. That's what the cleaning is, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Eren took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay." He sat. "So, uh, what did you do to get cursed?"

Levi inhaled through his nose. "Not a damn thing. I was a baby. Apparently my parents got on the wrong side of a witch." Eren shot a startled glance at Hanji, which made Levi laugh a little. "Not Hanji. A COMPETENT witch."

"Hey! Keep that up and maybe I'll eat this stew alone!"

He waved a hand, unimpressed. "Anyway. Basically, I have to clean on a regular basis. And I can't do anything productive that's not related to cleaning."

Eren's brow creased. "Meaning..."

Levi sighed. "When I told you I can't cook, I meant I CAN'T cook. As in physically unable. The curse stops me, sidetracks me to cleaning. I'll try to slice a potato, and end up scrubbing vegetables all day. It's not related to cleaning, I can't do it. I can build a house of cards, but only if the cards are on the floor first. I can read, since I need to be able to read labels and look up cleaning techniques, but I can't write. I never learned to dance or play an instrument. I can't even hunt."

Eren's mouth hung open. "That's..."

"Stew's up." Hanji set a bowl in front of Levi and another in front of Eren. "That's why I'm here. Levi really can't live on his own, no matter how much he'd like to."

Eren blew on his bowl, then started shoveling the food into his mouth. "S'good!" It was thick with vegetables, and even had slivers of meat in it. Eren's eyes watered in a combination of the heat and the memories the taste of meat brought on.

"Slow down, Eren." Levi's voice was firm. Eren found himself obeying without a thought. Levi had a sort of commanding voice when he put his mind to it, Eren noticed. They ate in comfortable silence for a while.

"Um... what about your family, Levi?" Levi's eyes narrowed, but Eren let the question stand. They'd asked about his, after all. Levi shook his head.

"They're busy. Too busy to deal with a problem child."

Eren gaped. "They... what?!" Hanji poured a round of tea and smiled at Eren.

"They're important people. They have to worry about a lot of people, not just one." Levi could see the pieces starting to click into place in Eren's mind, and he delivered the final blow.

"Haven't you heard about Sina's cursed royal heir and how they were spirited away?" Eren's eyes just about bugged out of his head.

"You're the cursed princess?!"

Levi spat stew across the table. "The WHAT?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now Eren knows about the curse! That took for-freakin'-ever, these things always go longer than I think. :) 
> 
> Next chapter introduces Erwin! It'll be fun!


	7. Princes and Winces

The next few days passed quickly. Eren slept a lot, and spent a good deal more time eating than he was used to. His back was slowly healing, only hurting if he twisted too far. The bruise was fading around the edges from black and purple to green and yellow. Meanwhile, his stomach stretched from good meal after good meal, and he felt human again. Talking to people felt weird, after so long with no one but Mikasa and occasionally Armin. He'd met the other person in this tiny circle of friends, a tall, tall man named Mike. He was... odd... but his hunting skills kept the cabin stocked. 

Eren's thoughts wandered back across the border often. Levi and Hanji lived rough, but it was magnitudes better than how Mikasa and Armin were still living. A knot of anxiety formed in his gut when he thought about going back to Maria. But how could he not? It was his home.

It would be easy to stay here with Levi. They got along well, now that they'd shared stories. He'd even gotten Levi to laugh a few times. Eren was naturally fairly neat, so he didn't cause any more friction that way, either. He had a magic touch with animals, too, he'd been shocked the first time he'd opened the door to a room and had a pair of larks land on his head. Since then, he'd been appointed as 'project room helper', something he actually enjoyed.

"Hey, Levi?"

"Yeah?" Levi was on all fours, picking up discarded feathers. Eren was playing perch again, this time with the pigeon.

"Why do you keep birds? Seems like the less you have around to clean, the better."

Levi sighed, fetching a damp rag. "Tried it. After the palace became too much for me, Hanji and I moved to a tiny little hut on the edge of the capital. It was easy to keep it cleaned, and she even helped out so I had less to do." He shook his head. "But I HAVE to clean. Something. Anything. One night Hanji woke up to find me gone. She was convinced I'd been kidnapped. You know where I was?" Eren's brows drew together. "Next door. I'd broken into their house to clean. I couldn't stop myself. I could see in their window, see how sloppy they were and it just... It had been building up inside of me for so long I cleaned until I passed out. The next day, I crawled out of bed to clean some more. Hanji had to tie me down." He sat back in the middle of the floor. "So we make sure I always have something to clean. Animals are easiest. They're a reliable source of mess, and easy to take care of. And they don't ask questions." He arched an eyebrow at Eren, who grinned. 

"Besides, this isn't such a bad life," Levi continued. "I'm... content. If I'd stayed at the Capital my life would be nothing but a parade of bureaucracy. One idiot after another."

Eren reached out and took the handful of feathers from him. "Don't Hanji and I count as idiots? You tell us that often enough."

Levi snorted. "Sure, you're both idiots, but you're-"

"LEVI!" Hanji's voice echoed through the cabin. "We've got a problem!" Levi dropped the rag and ran to the front door, Eren hot on his heels. Hanji stood a short distance from the cabin, eyes toward the top of the waterfall. (Turned out Eren's ears hadn't been roaring the day he'd met Levi, it really was a waterfall.)

"What's the problem?"

Hanji pointed to the top of the waterfall. "There's someone up there. Horse, full armor."

"Shit. Looking for me?" Hanji nodded. "Mike's still out, too. Horrible timing." 

Eren gulped. "What happens now?"

Levi narrowed his eyes as he tried to pick out movement through the brush. "He'll be looking for the way down safely. The cabin's pretty visible from the top of the falls, so he probably knows where he needs to go."

Hanji laid a hand on Eren's shoulder. "Basically we try to convince him he's in the wrong place. I'm not good for that, since I trek into town a lot for supplies. I'm kinda well known for my connection to the royals. Think you could help Levi with this?"

Eren shot Levi a bewildered look. "What do I do?" Hanji retreated into the cabin, leaving the door open behind her. "I just... say you're not the princess?"

"Stop it with the princess shit." Levi growled. "But basically, yeah. Follow my lead, try not to screw up. Here he comes." The soft sounds of horse hooves on the forest floor was swallowed by the waterfall, but Levi caught a glimpse of metal a second before the man came into the clearing, still on the other side of the river.

The man was tall, broad, and fair, thick blonde hair waving gently in the breeze. His armor was finely made, covered in intricate engravings that made Levi wince just thinking about cleaning them. Eren saw the wince and grabbed Levi's hand, squeezing supportively. "S'Okay." He whispered. 

"Excuse me." The man had a commanding voice. Eren wondered for a moment if it was something they taught at Prince School. "Does either of you know where the princess is?"

"Are you shitting me?!" Levi squawked. "The hell is wrong with people?!"

Follow Levi's lead, Eren thought wryly. So much for that.

"I beg your pardon?" The man's thick eyebrows drew low. 

"I. Am. Not. A Girl!" Levi yelled. "I don't even know how this got started!" Eren had to stifle a laugh.

"I don't understand." The blonde stayed composed, but his horse shifted under him.

Levi sighed. "I'm the PRINCE of Sina. Do me a favor, go back to town and tell those idiots that someone's made a mistake."

The man's face split into a broad smile. "Ah. I see. You're male now. Well, I'm here to rescue you, so you can tell them yourself. I am Prince Erwin, from Rose."

Eren frowned. Rescue? From what?

Levi folded his arms. "No thanks. I like it out here." Erwin narrowed his eyes. "Really. It's better for me to be out here."

Erwin stared at them for a minute, as if waiting for Levi to say 'just kidding, take me away!' "Surely you're not serious. I'm here to save you from your captivity."

Levi scoffed. "Not interested." Eren smiled at Levi's harsh words. Maybe now this blonde guy would leave.

Erwin's eyebrows knotted. "I don't... Ah! That must be part of your curse. Complacency. I see, that's a tricky one. In that case, I'll take you back regardless of what you say, and worry about breaking the curse after."

"You'll what?!" Eren burst out. "Forced rescue? Really?!" Erwin shifted his gaze to Eren.

"Are you the one who did this to her? You'll regret it."

"I'M NOT A HER, DAMMIT!"

Erwin smiled. "Of course not. Gender change spells aren't difficult, and it really is the best way to hide. I commend your guard for thinking of it." He looked to either side of the river, but found no better place to cross. Erwin urged his horse forward into the river. Water splashed as the horse surged forward, and Levi and Eren backed up a little. Erwin emerged from the river with wet legs and an unhappy horse, dripping in the sunlight.

Eren instinctively stepped in front of Levi as Erwin came close. "Stay back! Levi doesn't want to go with you!" Erwin's face darkened.

"Enough of this. Holding a helpless girl hostage is a poor way to get your kicks." Levi sputtered incoherently. "However, you will not stop me."

Erwin drew a sword from his belt. The weapon flashed in the bright sun, and Eren's heart pounded. His blood felt like lava, heat pulsing through him. Anger flooded him.

"I will be taking Levi now. Stand aside, boy, don't make me hurt you."

"Eren. Get out of the way."

Their voices sounded distant to Eren now. His breathing accelerated, fists clenching as he stood his ground.

Levi, going back to a city.

Levi, helpless in the throes of the curse.

Levi, a teenager just like Eren, breaking into his neighbors' houses to clean them because the curse just wouldn't give him a rest.

Levi, cleaning until he passed out, then waking up to clean more.

"Stand aside!"

"Eren!"

Levi, out in the middle of nowhere, laughing and joking with Hanji and Eren. Levi, tending to a pigeon, content with his life.

"NOOOOOO!"

Levi was knocked on his ass by an explosion of steam. Wave after wave of hot air blew by him from where Eren had been standing. Inside the steam. A dark figure stood. Tall. Huge. 

Giant.

A roar filled the clearing, more animal than human.

"Shit."

Now he knew why Eren had seemed a little off. Eren wasn't human.

.....................................................................

Rage pulsed through him. His heartbeat thundered in his ear. He felt strong and good and perfect and right. Levi was his. The other man would leave or die. He roared, rage channeling into the sound. He slammed his fists together as the last of the steam cleared, revealing him standing tall and proud.

The suddenly tiny man's expression was comically shocked. His little pinprick of a sword would do nothing to Eren now. Levi was safe from him. Levi could stay here. The man was already turned away, back in the river and hastily retreating. As he should. Eren turned to Levi, saw shock and recognition in Levi's eyes. The other man wouldn't dare come back. If he did, Eren wouldn't hesitate to...

Wouldn't hesitate to...

Erwin disappeared into the brush at the same moment Eren's enormous body collapsed on the ground.

....................................................

Levi watched, heart hammering, as Eren fell. He sprinted toward the head. If Eren had wasted his life on a stupid display... "Eren! Eren! Answer me!" 

Levi stared into Eren's enormous face, but his eyes were shut. His nose alone was the size of Levi. But those eyes had been fiery green, bright with intelligence. Eren had stood between Levi and his would-be assailant.

"Dammit Eren! Open your eyes!" Steam billowed from him again, blinding Levi. "Eren!" Levi saw a human-sized figure emerge from the back of the neck. Squinting, burying his face in his elbow, Levi struggled toward it. He grabbed it and felt a familiarly gaunt frame under his hands. He slid one hand up to Eren's neck, and nearly sobbed when he felt a slow, steady beat under his fingers.

"Levi! What the hell's going on? Where did this Titan come from?" 

"Hanji! It's Eren!" Levi's voice shook, he hated it when his voice shook. He looped his arms around Eren's waist, but Eren's legs will still buried in the neck muscles of the Titan.

She let out a low whistle as she came closer. "Guess you were right, there was something off about the kid. He all right?"

Levi pulled on Eren, feeling the Titan flesh below him shift as another inch of Eren pulled free. "Ngh. Hard to say. He's breathing, but kinda... stuck..." Levi pulled again, and this time Eren's legs pulled free with a sickening sound. The lack of resistance threw Levi off balance, and he and Eren toppled to the ground.

Levi panted for breath as steam swirled around him. Eren's face was slack, as if he were asleep. Hanji grabbed Eren's legs, and together they hoisted Eren back into the cabin, leaving behind the vaporous remains of Eren's little surprise.

Levi's bedroom was closer, so he kicked the door open and slid the unconscious Eren onto his bed. Hanji wisely chose not to comment on that. She'd been sleeping on the floor of her room while Eren took the bed, unspoken understanding that having another person in his bedroom would be too much for Levi. At the moment, though, Levi didn't care. He checked Eren's pulse again (still there) and felt Eren's forehead (far too hot).

"He's burning up." Levi ran to the bathroom to get a cloth and returned with a cold compress for Eren's forehead. "What the hell happened?!"

"That's what I want to know." Hanji whispered. "I heard an explosion."

Levi sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Eren's face. "He just... It just came out of nowhere. One second, Eren. Kaboom, flash, Titan." He rubbed his forehead. "You ever heard about someone changing into a Titan?"

Hanji tapped her chin. "Not exactly. Shapeshifters are usually limited to animals, and anything else is usually an illusion. Could it have been an illusion?"

Levi laughed, but it sounded more like a whimper. "You saw me standing on it. Shit. You think he's one of the ones that invaded Maria? Got left behind?" Even as he said it, that didn't sit right with Levi. He'd seen the anger in Eren's eyes when he talked about the destruction of his land. Eren was one of the most genuine people Levi knew, he just didn't have it in him to fake something like that.

"Not enough information." Hanji sighed. "And I can't run into town when Mike's not here, you'd be alone with Eren."

Levi was quiet for a moment. "I'll be fine." Hanji's eyes widened. "This is too important for one shitty curse to hold back. As long as we've got food, I'll figure out the rest."

She stood. "If you're sure..." His face didn't change. "Alright. I'll see what I can do." She bustled into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder as she went. "But I'm not leaving you two for long, got it? Two or three days max." 

Levi wasn't listening. He leaned down and traced a finger down Eren's cheek.

...................................................................

A couple hours later, Hanji left, leaving behind a long list of instructions Levi could follow, along with a shorter list Eren could do when Eren woke up.

Levi refused to think 'if'.

They'd be eating a lot of vegetables and smoked meat, but they'd do fine without her. Levi spent all of his time not cleaning by Eren's side.

It had been four hours since the incident. Levi gently shook Eren's shoulder, but got no response.

Eight hours. The candle on the nightstand guttered and went out, leaving Levi alone in the dark with his thoughts.

Fourteen hours. The sunlight streaming through the window cast a shadow across Eren's face, and Levi had to check his breathing to make sure he was still alive.

Twenty hours. The pigeon got away from him, since Eren wasn't there to calm it down. Levi almost broke down right there.

Twenty-four hours. 

Twenty-eight hours.

Thirty hours.

Levi paced back and forth across his room. His mood was always worse at night, and he couldn't hold back the unpleasant thoughts any more. What if Eren never woke up? What if he sat here and watched Eren waste away a little more each day, never to see those bright eyes again?

Levi swallowed hard and sat on the edge of the bed again. "Eren." Nothing. "Eren, please." Nothing.

Levi had to think of something else. What if...What if this was somehow a curse or something? It fit the description of a sleep curse. People used sleep curses all the time. He hadn't thought there had been enough time for Erwin to throw a curse, but...

Levi gulped. One of the reasons sleep curses were used all the time was because their remedy was fast and simple. It would be easy to test.

Levi's heartrate sped a little as he looked down at Eren's face, outlined in candlelight. He couldn't. He couldn't. He had to at least try, didn't he? Levi shifted, setting on hand on either side of Eren's face and leaned closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...please don't kill me...


	8. Anger and Awkwardness

Levi leaned in closer, stopping when he could feel the heat radiating off of Eren. Thank goodness Hanji had left, if she caught him like this he'd never live it down. A faint sheen of sweat coated Eren, and Levi resisted the urge to grab a cloth to wipe him down. The cold compresses had done nothing but get cold water everywhere, so he'd given up after the third. 

Levi was breathing fast. He was stalling. If it didn't work, Eren would never find out. If it did work, he got Eren back. Win-win. All he had to do was lower himself an inch. One little inch. Go time, Levi thought grimly. He took a deep breath.

Eren's eyelids fluttered.

Levi jerked backward. 

He was not disappointed. He was not disappointed. In no way was he disappointed that Eren was recovering on his own. Eren's eyelids fluttered again, and he shifted a little. Levi jumped off the bed, heart hammering, face burning. Eren groaned. 

Levi dropped himself into his chair, looking out toward the dark window and trying to compose himself. Trying to look like he hadn't just almost kissed the boy he'd taken in. 

"Mfnah grnai?" Levi bit back a hysterical giggle. Eren at his finest. One last deep breath, and Levi's stoic face was back in place. He turned to see Eren rubbing his face, looking absolutely adorable and this was not the time for those thoughts.

"Welcome back to the living." Eren looked at him blearily. "You need something to drink?" A beat. Eren nodded. Levi tipped his head and walked into the kitchen to grab a cup. When he returned, Eren reached out a shaking hand to take the cup. "Nuh uh. It may just be water, but if you spill I'll still have to mop it up." Levi carefully held the cup to Eren's lips so he could drink.

Eren took a long drink, then pulled back. "What... happened?"

Levi started to answer, and then stopped. "What do you remember?"

Eren pulled himself into a sitting position, eyebrows knitting together. "Um. I don't know. We were cleaning. Got called out. Idiot man." Levi smirked. "Then..." Eren looked up. "Nothing. Not a thing. Did I get hit or something?"

Levi sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed again. "Eren... I don't know how to ask you this. Are you... Are you fully human?"

Eren's eyes widened. "Levi, what-"

"Understand I'm not prejudiced. I just need to know what you think first."

Eren leaned forward, hugging his knees. "Of-Of course I am. My dad's human, and so was my mom. Hundred percent."

Levi groped for words. Delicacy had never been hs strong point. "Are... Eren, are you sure?" Eren's head snapped up, bewilderment and anger and the tiniest bit of hurt in his eyes.

"Yes. Of course I am. Why are you even asking me this?!" Eren's voice rose, and Levi put his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. It's just that yesterday..." He ran a hand through his hair. "Eren, yesterday you didn't... look... human." He was shit at talking to people, he really was. His mood had done a total 180, and now he fervently wished Hanji had still been here so she could do the talking.

Eren frowned. "What do you mean-" Beat. "Wait, yesterday?!" Eren looked out the dark window in alarm. "I lost a whole day?!"

"And then some. You slept for almost a day and a half." Eren gaped for a moment, but then he turned back to Levi.

"What do you mean I didn't look human?" 

Levi sighed. "Look, can you stand? It's probably easier just to show you." Eren needed help getting up, but in a few minutes they'd gotten to the front door, Levi holding the small remainder of his candle high. He walked forward until the edge of the light was almost to the giant imprint. "Eren. Think back. That prince was talking about taking me by force, do you remember that?" He kept his voice low and calm, hoping he wouldn't trigger another explosion. Another reason to have this little chat outside. If Eren exploded his house, cute face or not, Levi would NOT be happy.

Eren pulled himself free of Levi's support and buried his face in his hands. "Yes. He was being such a jerk. You didn't want to go and you wouldn't have survived in the city."

"Your faith in me is outstanding. It's been years, I'm much better at controlling myself now."

Eren shot him a look. "You like it out here. He didn't have the right to make you leave."

Levi nodded. "I agree. Then what?"

Eren took a couple of deep breaths. "I... I was so angry. My whole body felt hot. I could hear voices, but the words blurred together and then..."

Silence.

"And then?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Blanked out."

Levi debated for a split second not telling Eren the truth. Telling him he'd been hit on the head and passed out, covering up the evidence tomorrow. But the thought was pointless. Whatever had happened, could happen again. Levi lifted the candle and took a couple steps forward. "Eren. This is where I was standing." Shadows fell across a few small bootprints. Eren raised an eyebrow. "Bear with me here. This is where I was standing. Where were you in comparison?"

Eren studied the surroundings for a minute. "Just to the right." Levi nodded, and took a single step to the right. An enormous mudprint of Titan Eren's backside lay preserved near the riverbank. Eren's mouth fell open.

"This is where you were standing." Eren stumbled forward.

"This... That... What...?" His voice was little more than a whisper. "Levi, what happened?"

Levi took a deep breath. Stalling done. All he could do was hope Eren didn't take it too badly."I don't know how, and I don't know why, before you ask. But yesterday, Eren, in order to protect me you turned into a Titan."

Eren's breathing turned ragged. "A... No... There's no way I'd..." He stared down at the indentations, eyes wide as what Levi said sunk in. After a second, he swayed and fell to his knees. Levi ran forward. "Ha....haha..." Eren fisted one hand in his hair as if he'd rip it out. White showed all around his eyes, and his pupils were so dilated none of their green was visible in the candlelight. "I turned into a Titan. Me. I did." A shudder passed through him.

"Eren. Eren, take a deep breath. It'll be okay." 

Eren looked up at him, mood swinging to furious in a split second. "Okay? OKAY? I just turned into a TITAN on your front step and all you can tell me is it'll be okay?!" He slammed both of his hands down into the mud and Levi winced. He crouched next to Eren, careful to avoid the mud. The last thing he needed was to run off to clean in the middle of this.

"E-Eren, don't-"

"But oh, as long as I'm breathing it'll be just FINE AND DANDY won't it, princess?! Never mind the fact that I might turn into a giant monster whenever!" Eren worked himself up to a full yell, voice echoing through the clearing. 

"I-"

"So I'm one of the freaks? I might be one of the VERY SAME FREAKS who destroyed everything in Maria! You think of that? I might be the thing..." Suddenly his anger was gone. Levi was left with a disconsolate teenage boy, kneeling in the mud in front of his house. "...the thing I hate the most."

Levi cradled the candle, feeling more helpless than he ever had in the throes of the curse. At his feet, Eren cried.

.................................

Eren cried himself out just as Levi's candle was sputtering. He sat on the soft riverbed, hands still splayed in the mud, breathing slowly returning to normal. Levi's legs were cramping, but he couldn't, wouldn't leave Eren alone out here like this.

"Eren." Levi tried to keep his voice even and had marginal success. "Are you..." Eren's head came up, and his face was slack. It was as if all the emotion had drained the life out of him. The boy sighed, looking down at his hands.

"Am I okay? No. I'm not. I'm really not." Eren took a deep breath. "Am I done? Yes." He pushed himself to his feet and turned back toward the door. Levi wanted to help him, wanted to have Eren lean on him like he had been for the past week, but... As if he read Levi's mind, Eren turned back to him. "Oh, and don't worry, I'll clean myself up."

So many things Levi wanted to say. "Thanks." A gust of wind blew through the clearing, and Levi's candle blew out. "Ah, shit." The clearing was dark, the moon a thin sliver in the sky. Levi reached out a hand and caught Eren's shoulder. "You make it to the door yet?" Movement. "Eren? Did you just shake your head?" 

A shaky chuckle. "Yeah. Habit. Um, I think the door was... Ah! I've got it!" Eren opened the door and Levi followed him in. Levi tugged Eren toward one of the kitchen drawers. 

"There're more candles and matches in here." Levi grabbed a taper.

"Do I have to light it? That's not cleaning, right?"

Levi snorted. "Eren, you're dirty and I can't clean unless I have light. It counts." The sound of a match being struck. Levi lit the candle and sighed in relief as the room came into view again. "You. Bathroom. Now." Eren gave him a silly salute and mock-marched to the cleaning room, standing tall and straight. 

Fortunately by now Eren was used to his routine, so Levi got help in pumping and filling. Eren stripped off Hanji's loaned clothes and got into the tub without modesty or complaint. Levi immediately started wetting Eren's hair.

"Levi?"

"Hm?" One candle couldn't provide a whole lot of light, so Levi needed to do a thorough job.

"Sorry. About my... episode out there. I didn't mean to yell at you." Eren slid down until his chin almost touched the water. "You and Hanji have been... really nice to me. Amazingly nice."

Levi smacked the top of Eren's head lightly before resuming his scrubbing. "Hey. Don't get depressed, dope. I put you to work, don't I? And sit up, I can't clean you underwater." Eren chuckled and did as he was bid. Levi ran a sponge across Eren's neck. "Alright. Lean forward, let's check your back." 

Eren leaned forward and Levi froze.

"Levi?"

Levi swiped the sponge lightly across Eren's back. Then firmly. Then he rested his hand against Eren's spine. "Eren..."

Eren twisted his neck to try to see his back. "What's the matter? You're not hurting me, so-"

"Eren. It's gone." Levi pushed on Eren's back, where the giant bruise had been slowly fading. All the bright colors were gone, weeks of healing sped past. "You're... you're healed."

Eren's arm twisted to reach for the spot. "Impossible! I just saw it, well, I guess it was yesterday." 

Levi tried to swallow, mouth dry. "Eren, how do you feel?"

Eren frowned. "Tired. Like I could go back to bed. Hungry. A little wobbly, probably because I haven't eaten." His jaw dropped, and he met Levi's eyes. "I don't hurt! At all! Anywhere!"

Levi gave him a grim smile before resuming cleaning. "Looks like that was part of what happened yesterday. Damn, I hope Hanji gets back soon. We've got to talk about this, and she's the one with all the weird knowledge."

"Levi..." Eren's voice was suddenly small. His shoulders hunched. "What do you know about Titans? Can you... tell me about them?"

Levi considered for a moment. "Alright. Bear in mind that I'd never seen one until your display, so everything I know comes from books and stories."

"S'better than me," Eren muttered darkly.

Levi stood, stretched, and walked to the front of the tub. He held out an open palm and Eren supplied a partially-muddy foot. "Alright. Titans are considered in the same 'class' as giants and trolls, but the way they function is fundamentally different from either of those. Giants and trolls get their energy the same way we do, by eating and drinking and then shitting the leftovers." Eren chuckled, half from the poop reference and half from the sponge running across his toes. "Titans, though, don't eat. Well, they can, but there's no benefit to it. They just barf back up whatever they took in."

"You have such a way with words, you charmer." Levi smirked.

"My stellar personality is why I'm so popular. Anyway, they take in their energy from two sources. First being sunlight. There's a reason you never hear about Titans moving around at night, it's incredibly difficult for them. But sun, it only gives them enough energy to survive, not enough to do anything useful with." Levi paused. They were venturing into dangerous territory here. "The second source... Eren, do you know why Maria was attacked in the way it was?"

Eren's face darkened, his open smile changing into a scowl. "They destroyed an entire country. They don't need a reason."

Levi sighed. Predictable answer. "If that's right, then why haven't Sina and Rose been attacked, too? We're right next door."

Eren was quiet for a minute. "They... got bored? Decided to leave?"

"Eren, the Titans attacked Maria because it had something they wanted. What do you think it was?"

Levi tossed the sponge to the side and Eren stood, grabbing a towel. "Like I know. Maria's not rich in metal or magic or anything, we mostly just grew things. We used to have huge orchards that stretched from horizon to horizon..." His voice grew wistful. "Farming was the lifeblood of Maria."

Levi stripped while Eren toweled himself dry. He normally was a little more body-shy, but after Eren treated it so casually Levi had followed his lead. "Farms. Trees. Fruit. That's what they were after."

"Huh?" Eren's hair was sticking up in every direction, Levi had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from smiling as he dumped the tub and started refilling it. "But you just said they don't eat!"

"Titans are also known as Land Giants. When they battle, they draw energy from everything green and growing around them. If a Titan battles, afterward there will be an area of land where the plants suddenly don't look quite as healthy. Normally, though, it's a tiny amount drained, and the earth recovers." Levi lowered himself into the refilled tub. Eren leaned against the wall, his frown more contemplative than angry now.

"Normally."

Levi sighed and leaned back, eyes fluttering shut. "Eight years ago, civil war broke out among the Titans. Something about killing the wrong person, I think. While fighting, they're nearly invincible, so fighting between Titans can take a while. Both sides were evenly matched. The fighting could have lasted for decades, if not centuries. But... one of the Titan leaders came up with a plan to end the war decisively."

"Maria." Eren's voice shook.

Levi nodded. "All that energy. All that potential. Enough energy to end the war before it was even going a year. But in the process, they stripped Maria so clean that it apparently still can't even grow anything but mushrooms and fungus."

Eren was silent for a long time, and this time Levi let the silence stretch as he washed himself. After a while, Eren exhaled in a rush. "It's still wrong!"

"Oh, it is, I won't deny it. Every single person in Maria got caught up in a war that only a few people even knew was going on." 

Eren looked at his hands as if he'd never seen them before. "Levi... I could do that, couldn't I? Strip an area dry."

"I don't know. I'm always completely honest with you, kid. Possibly. You'd probably need some form of training in it, but..."

Levi watched Eren's throat work as he digested this. All in all, this was going well. Emotional outbursts to a minimum, things getting clean at the same time. Levi stood and Eren tossed him a clean towel.

Levi caught it and walked forward, coming close to Eren. "Eren." He put one hand against the wall and looked up. Looking up to a kid, Levi thought irritably. The injustice of the world. "You're not asking the right question. It doesn't matter whether you can do it or not. Would you do it, if you could?"

Eren's eyes flashed as his anger peaked. "Of course not!" Levi smirked, leaning a little closer. 

"Then it doesn't matter, does it?" Eren's eyes widened.

"I... guess not..." Levi reached up with his free hand and ruffled Eren's wet hair.

"There you go. Now, I'm tired. You said you're tired. Let's eat something and go to bed."

Eren helped him put the cleaning room to rights and then trailed after him into the kitchen like a puppy dog. "You can't cook. I know you can't cook."

Levi pulled open a drawer and pulled out two strips of smoked meat. "I'm not cooking. I'm partially emptying drawers so that they can be cleaned at a later date." He grabbed a couple vegetables and a loaf of bread and dumped the whole lot on the table. "Relocation of goods. The new location happens to be my stomach, and yours." Levi grinned. "I've had years to practice talking my way around the curse. Loopholes are fun."

"Mmm." Eren ripped into the meat, chewing as fast as he could. Levi snorted and took his own seat at the table.

"It's not running away from you."

Eren blinked slowly, mouth full. He swallowed and cleared his throat nervously. "Haha. Sorry. It's just..." His words trailed off, and a silence fell.

Levi ate his food with maximum efficiency, quickly and neatly. He watched Eren through lowered lashes as he ate. Eren's color was better now, he noted, almost glowing in the candlelight.

And then it hit Levi. He was having a candlelight dinner. Both of them were clad in only a towel each. Eren was still rail thin, but he had a cute face and Levi would be lying if he said Eren's appeal was lost on him. Levi swallowed hard, feeling like a lump was caught in his throat. Now he wished he'd taken the time to dress. Made Eren dress. Would it be less... awkward then? Awkward wasn't exactly the right word. It was only Levi feeling like this, only Levi fighting down the thought that they were alone in the cabin, real privacy the like of which he rarely got. But Eren, as far as he knew, was solely concerned with getting back on his feet. And Levi really wanted that too, he just happened to be thinking about wanting a few more things in addition to that that happened to involve Eren NOT being on his feet...

"Um." Levi jolted upright. He had been staring at Eren, and now Eren was staring back.

"Ah. Sorry. My thoughts were getting away from me." Levi looked down at the table, avoiding Eren's gaze.

"It's okay, you know." Levi glanced guiltily back up. Eren smiled a gentle little smile that made Levi's heart work double time.

"Wh-What is?" If Eren had even an inkling of what Levi had been think of...

"To be afraid of me."

Levi blinked. "...What."

Eren fidgeted a little. "You can be afraid. I'm... a monster."

Levi sighed. "Finish your food, Eren. You need sleep, obviously your brain's not working." He pushed himself upright and started to walk away.

"Um... Levi?"

"What is it, Eren?" He smirked a little at how the boy blushed.

"Um, um, well, ah... I-It's not important."

Levi crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Try that again, this time without a shitty wimp-out."

"W-Would you be okay if... I mean, if you don't see me as a monster..."

"I don't." 

Eren's shoulders hunched. "Well... I'm... afraid," He whispered. "Of myself. Of... what happened yesterday." Levi took a deep breath. It was to be expected, you didn't find out every day that you could turn into a Titan.

"What do you want? What would help?" Eren stared down at the table.

"Forget it. It'll be too much for you. It's unfair to ask."

Levi made an exasperated noise. "I know my curse better than you do. If something will be too much, I will tell YOU. Not the other way around. Answer me, brat. What. Do. You. Want?" It was unfair of him to pull out the Royal Voice, as Hanji called it, but Levi was tired of games.

Eren's voice was barely a whisper. "Can I sleep with you?"

Levi's heart just about stopped. This kid was going to be the death of him.


	9. Bedtime and Borderline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter! Sorry about that, but work cut me off before I could write the next bit.

Eren watched anxiously as Levi froze. He knew it was asking a lot, knew it probably wasn't going to be possible, but he had to try.

He'd barely scratched the surface of his feelings in his conversation with Levi. He was so churned up he was barely functional. Fear was the biggest part. Fear of himself, fear of turning into a Titan again. Fear of doing something he wouldn't remember, something he'd regret forever. Fear of hurting Levi. Fear of rampaging like the Titans he'd seen out the window years and years ago, barrelling across the land and leaving destruction in their wake.

But that wasn't all the emotion he held. Anger was next. Anger at himself, for not knowing more. Anger at his parents, who might have known something but were gone before he could ask. Anger at that foreign prince, for throwing the first stone that triggered an avalanche. Anger at Levi, for not meeting his eyes over their meal, then denying being afraid.

After anger came despair, with self-loathing on its heels. Those were the true reason behind his wanting to sleep with Levi. Maybe if he fell asleep curled up next to a human being, he could trick himself into thinking he was one still. But he had never been human. Never would be. No, he was a beast.

A monster.

He hadn't even realized he was crying again until Levi reached up and wiped a tear.

"Eren. Hey, look at me!" Eren sniffed and fought to keep any more tears from falling.

"S-Sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." He turned, intending to go to Hanji's room and hide in the dark for a few hours, but Levi's hand caught his wrist and pulled him back. 

"Eren! Stop that!" Levi's voice cut through Eren's roil of emotions like a steel knife. "Dammit, kid, I KNOW what you're thinking!" Eren shook his head, disbelief clear on his face, and the hand on his wrist yanked him forward into a tight hug. That stopped Eren short. Levi's freshly cleaned hair was just under his nose, Levi's face buried in Eren's shoulder. For a few breaths, neither moved. Neither talked. The warmth of bare skin touching comforted Eren in a way no words could, and some of the tension slid away. Levi's arms gripped around his waist, and Eren trembled.

After a long, long moment, Levi's grip loosened. "Come on. Let's get some sleep." Eren stammered something about being fine, but Levi tugged him into his bedroom. The faint sliver of light from the candle they'd left in the kitchen illuminated the rumpled sheets from Eren's last visit there, and Eren turned a little red at that. Levi groaned. "I'm too tired to mess with those. We'll change 'em in the morning." Eren made a sound of agreement and climbed up on the bed without prompting. He wiggled under the sheets and tugged the other side smooth.

"Better?" He asked. Levi snorted.

"Let's put it this way, I'm never hiring you to make my bed. Even in this light you did a shit job." Eren chuckled weakly. Levi walked over to the side of the bed. "Hey. You really going to sleep in nothing but that towel that's going to fall off and be lost in the corner of the bed somewhere in like five minutes?" 

Eren shrugged, closing his eyes. "Don't care." Levi muttered something. "Hmm?"

"Nothing. I'm putting on clothes." Cloth rustling. Eren assumed it was Levi putting on a shirt or something, but his eyelids were so heavy he couldn't lift them again to check. Suddenly the bed shifted under him as a weight settled on the other side. Levi slid under the covers and sighed. "Before you go to sleep." Eren felt an arm snake around his middle. His eyes flew open to see Levi's face only inches from his own. 

Levi's other hand reached up and cupped Eren's cheek. "You listen and you listen well, Eren." He sighed. "It's hard to realize you're different from normal people. I know that. But realize this, too. What you are, what you define yourself as, that's up to you." The hand on his face moved down to rest on his chest. "You're as human as you want to be." 

Warmth pooled in Eren's chest. His throat worked, and he had to fight back tears. He swallowed hard. "Th-Thanks."

"Now, sleep already, brat." Levi turned his back on Eren. Eren stared at the back of Levi's neck for a bit, wondering if Levi really was as comfortable with him as he pretended to be. If he was just pretending, in order to give Eren more confidence. Did it matter? Maybe not.

Eren fell asleep with a smile on his face.

..............................................................................

Levi's first thought of the morning was that something was different. His back was warm, very warm. A line of warmth crossed over his waist, too. But everything else was cold. His feet were like blocks of ice. He felt sleepily for his covers, but they were nowhere to be found. The warmth at his back shifted and mumbled, and Levi was instantly wide awake.

Eren was sleeping next to him.

Levi swallowed hard. Eren's arm was around his waist, and Eren was the source of all that heat. He'd already noticed Eren's higher body temperature last night, but where the hell had the covers gone? He turned his head and bit his lip. Sunlight through the window cast a healthy glow on Eren's exposed flesh.

ALL of Eren's exposed flesh.

I told him, Levi thought bitterly. There was no way that towel would stay on. Levi forced himself to turn his head back and wiggled a little, trying to get out of Eren's grip. Eren mumbled something else incoherent and snuggled closer. Levi was suddenly aware of just how happy Eren was to be sleeping next to him. Levi groaned and wiggled harder, finally managing to slip out of Eren's grasp and get away. Eren really was too much. Levi stepped back from the bed, fully intending to simply change clothes and leave, but his curiosity got the better of him. He turned back, red-faced, and watched the sleeping boy for a minute. Eren had gotten hold of Levi's pillow and was now snuggling it like he had Levi. Levi's heart warmed at the sight. Eren had been a mess last night, but at least he was sleeping well now. 

Levi walked around to Eren's side of the bed. The covers were strewn across the floor (fat lot of good they did there) and Eren's towel was dangling off the edge of the bed. Levi bit a knuckle to keep from laughing. What was the point of being a cover-hog if you didn't even use them yourself? He sorted out just the sheet and carefully draped it over Eren, smoothing it down around him. Then he looked down at Eren's sleeping face again.

He usually looked like he was concentrating so hard on whatever he was doing, Levi had been afraid that the furrow between Eren's eyes was permanent. but in sleep, it relaxed away, and Eren looked... young. Levi sighed. He leaned closer, shifting his weight to draw close enough that he could see each individual eyelash. Levi licked his lips, gaze travelling down to Eren's open mouth.

Eren's open mouth with a thin line of drool hanging out of it. 

Levi's arms itched fiercely. Shit, he thought, pushing himself off the bed. Dirty. He rubbed his arms feverishly. Damn that curse. It wanted Levi to wake Eren up. The kid needed sleep, he was still recovering. Dirty. 

Well, Levi knew that distance helped sometimes. He strode out of the bedroom and then out of the cabin entirely, shutting the door harder than necessary behind him. 

Dirty. Levi growled a little as he started wiping off the doorframe with the edge of his shirt. He focused on the polished wood with single-minded intensity, trying desperately to forget about the teenager currently sprawled across his bed.

He focused so hard he didn't hear anyone behind him until a muscled arm clamped over his mouth. He heard a deep voice murmur a word his mind didn't register, and Levi's world spun and went black.


	10. Pact and Tact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I wrote most of this before the spoiler for Chapter 49 came out. XD Funny how those things work.

Eren jolted awake to the sound of a slamming door. For once, he was instantly and completely awake. Levi. He was in Levi's bed.

Eren sat up, and took a moment to be happy that his back didn't hurt any more. At least there was a silver lining to this Titan cloud. 

He slipped out of the bed and contemplated the mess of covers. Should he try to clean it up? He dithered for a moment, but decided he'd better ask Levi. Eren sighed and walked outside, not bothering to try to find clean clothes. The fresh breeze felt good on his skin, if a little cool. Eren took a deep breath, savoring the smells of life around him. 

"Levi?" He called. A noise from the cliff. Eren turned. The foreign prince was back, halfway up the cliffside. He shifted to one side, and a couple small pebbles clattered to the ground.

Levi hung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Eren went from curious to furious in less than a second. "HEY!" He ran toward the cliff. "The hell did you do to Levi?! You jerk!" He reached up the sheer rock wall and scrabbled for a handhold.

Erwin looked down at him, eyes wide and innocent. "It's a simple short-duration sleep spell!" He shouted down. "Easily reversible! Thank you and goodbye!" He stretched and hauled himself another few feet up the cliff.

Eren tried to climb up, too. But his arms couldn't reach the handholds, and after far too short a try they burned and ached. "St-Stop!" Meanwhile Erwin was nearly to the top. Eren panted for breath as he reached up to try again. I wonder if I could reach him as a Titan...

Time seemed to stand still as Eren's mind seemed to split in two factions.

If he turned into a Titan, he might be able to follow. If he turned into a Titan, he might get Levi back.

But he didn't remember anything about turning into a Titan. He might NOT get Levi back. 

Was it worth the try?

The answer was obvious.

Eren concentrated on the anger churning inside himself, letting it grow and build. Eren could feel it, like a second heart beating faster and faster. Any second now. Any second. Eren's breathing sped, and he still wasn't transforming. Still wasn't. Still... Stupid useless unreliable powers. "Give him BACK!" He yelled, thumping his fists against the rock wall. Erwin ignored him, hauling himself higher until his fingers clamped onto the top edge.

Eren had never felt more useless. What was he supposed to do? How long would it take someone else to come? How could he slow the other down? Eren took a deep breath, feeling the anger inside himself subside a little. "Please. Just... can I know why you're doing this?"

Erwin hauled himself up onto flat ground, sending Levi sprawling limply out of Eren's sight. He turned and leaned over the edge again. "My apologies, boy. I did some more research yesterday, and I know you weren't the one to curse the princess." He managed to make his voice sound normal even when shouting from the top of a cliff. 

"Prince." Eren corrected dully. He doubted Erwin could hear him over the waterfall, though.

"However, the fact remains that she is cursed. Perhaps after the curse is broken you two can reunite. Farewell!" Erwin stood, passing out of Eren's line of sight.

Eren broke into a cold sweat. "N-No... don't..." Levi was gone. He had failed. "No! Come, Come back!" In desperation, he jumped at the cliff face and managed to grab a handhold. "LEVI!"

He reached up, up, up. Grazed the gap. Reached harder and got a fingertip in. He had to get up there. Had to track them. Had to get Levi back. Anger was beating inside him again, thundering in his ears. Levi. Levi.

"YOU GOT ME DIRTY YOU SHITSTICK!"

Eren just about passed out as Levi's roar echoed over the cliff. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as he reached up again. He heard faint sounds of scuffling and... hitting? If that prince hurt Levi... Eren's arms were shaking, clinging to the cliff was doing him no good whatsoever. If only he could see!

Another familiar voice rung out. "MA-HA-SU!" A loud CRACK made Eren flinch.

The only noise was that of the waterfall.

"Oops," Hanji said cheerily. "Close enough." Splashing sounds. A second later, her head peeked over the edge of the cliff above him. "Hey Eren! Levi's fine, and the other prince... uh, isn't much of a threat at the moment. Get up here!"

Eren groaned. "If I COULD, I'd already be up there!" His whole body was shaking with effort now just to hold himself in place.

Levi's head reappeared. "Oi. Other side's way easier. Why didn't you just go around?"

Eren shifted his weight a little. "I was, uh, kinda busy chasing you." He shifted the other way. "And now..."

"Now?"

Eren turned red. "I'm kinda... stuck." He couldn't reach high enough for the next handhold, but the last foothold was too far away, too. "It's not funny! My arms are gonna fall off!" Hanji giggled at him. 

"Now, now, one at a time." Levi was grinning. Really grinning.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Get up here and see." Levi said. "And Eren, for the sake of my sanity, PLEASE put some clothes on!" He had that little pinched-worried-why-me face on.

Eren turned red, pulling himself tighter against the cliff face. "I was kind of in a hurry! And I'm still stuck."

"Oh, right. Just drop off, you're not that far up."

Eren looked down, feeling a little sick. The ground looked so far away. Yeah, he'd probably survive, but still...

"Ooh! Better idea!" Eren immediately distrusted Hanji when she got that tone. "No, really! You can get down super easy, no damage at all!"

Eren sighed. "I'm not letting you try another spell on me."

"Nonono, that's the best part! It's all you! All you have to do is focus on wanting to get down, and hurt yourself somehow. Bite a hand, maybe?"

"The HELL?" Eren stared up at her, sure he'd misheard. "Why would I bite myself?! That's sick!"

Levi looked at Hanji. Hanji looked at Levi. A moment later, Levi sighed. "Give it a try. I think I know where she's going with this."

Eren's mouth hung open. Levi wanted him to... He gulped. "You're... you're sure this will get me down somehow? And not with me, like, writhing in pain?"

Hanji grinned. "Chances are really, really good. Like, 95%. Trust me!"

Eren licked his lips. His fingertips were starting to cramp, he had to do SOMETHING or he'd just fall off. "A...Alright. I'll give it a shot." He closed his eyes. Focus on wanting to get down. That wasn't hard. He DID want down. Badly. He brought one hand to his mouth, took a deep breath, and bit down.

Heat exploded through him. The world around him seemed to dissolve, reshape, realign. Steam billowed around him, and when it cleared he was still staring at the same patch of rock on the cliff face. But... his feet were on the ground? Eren looked down. Froze. The ground was still an awfully long way away. He heard a whoop from the top of the cliff.

"It worked! Eren!" Hanji was waving. Levi just stared at him, eyes wide. Eren stared back. Their heads were so tiny. He was, he was huge. He was... a Titan. He'd become a Titan. He sucked in a lungful of air, trying not to panic. "Hey, Eren! Can you hear meeee? Eren!" Eren tried to say 'yes' and ended up with a growl. "Whoo, I'll take that as a yes! Can you get up here now?" Eren studied the cliff edge. It looked pretty sturdy. He reached up a hand and grabbed the top edge not far from the two. Levi ran over and kicked his hand.

"Not on this side, idiot, you'll squish us! Go on the other side!" Eren would have squeaked, but his new throat didn't seem capable of that. So he nodded, and with one big step crossed to the other side of the river. The cliffside tapered into a slope, and he was able to easily pull himself up to the top. Hanji and a dirt-covered Levi stood just beyond the river, and the foreign prince lay behind them with... Eren blinked and made a small noise.

"Oh yeah! This is Erwin, Crown Prince of Rose!" Hanji chirped. "He's been disarmed, though, so no worries!"

Levi groaned. "And de-legged. And knocked out." Sure enough, Erwin was just a torso and a head, mouth hanging open and longue lolling to the side. One cheek was bright red. "You really did a number on Shitstick here." Eren choked.

Hanji waved a hand. "I'm sure he'll be fine. You would have done more damage, if I hadn't been here." Levi shuddered.

"The idiot just tossed me in the dirt. Do you have any idea how filthy I am right now?" Levi rubbed his arms. "Ugh. Let's just get back down and I'll take a bath."

Eren made a questioning noise. Their conversation had given him time to get used to his new shape a little, but... how did he turn back? He pointed one giant hand at himself, then shrugged his shoulders.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" 

Eren grumbled. He pointed at himself. Pointed at them.

"No shit, you're a Titan. Whoop-de-do. I need a bath." Eren snorted in frustration. How was he supposed to ask them anything?

Hanji splashed noisily over to Eren's side. Well, to the side of Eren's foot. Eren stood very still, not daring to make any sudden moves. "Sorry, Eren! I guess not being able to talk is a bit of a problem. Ummm, let's see. You want to know something about your Titan self?"

He nodded.

"Okay! I did tons of research while I was gone, I can tell you just about anything! What do you want to know about?" 

Eren sighed. He bent down and stuck a finger in a smooth patch of mud.

H-O-W

Hanji did a little dance of happiness. "Oh! That'll work! How... How what?" Eren wiped the ground clean.

C-H-A-N-G-

"Change?" Eren nodded and wiped the area flat again.

B-A-C-K

"Oh! How to change back!" Eren nodded, feeling his longer hair flop awkwardly around his face. "Well... I haven't a clue." Eren groaned. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "How'd you change back last time?"

Like I know! Eren thought desperately.

"Can we just get back down first? I'm filthy over here." Levi growled, brushing futilely at his formerly-white pants. He jumped from rock to rock over the river until he stood next to Hanji. He was furiously rubbing up and down his arms. "Really, really need to wash."

Eren blinked. That... might be something he could help with. He bent down and held an enormous hand out between Levi and Hanji. Eren's throat rumbled.

"Ooh, ooh! Levi, he can carry you down!" Hanji's eyes sparkled. "I wanna waaaatch!"

Levi froze. "What?! Eren, you..." He swallowed. "Alright. Make it fast." Levi climbed awkwardly onto Eren's hand, tumbling gracelessly into the dip of his palm. "Shit, your skin's hot. Get me down."

Eren looked questioningly at Hanji, but she shook her head. "Nah, I can't just leave Mr. Head-and-Shoulders over here by himself. I'll follow after." Eren nodded, and carefully straightened up. Levi made a small sound, but held himself still. Eren cupped his hand to his chest, cradling Levi protectively. Then he looked over the edge. His Titan body seemed to thrum with power, he felt so strong right now. Everything around him suddenly seemed fragile.

The bottom really didn't look that far down any more. In fact...

"What the hell are you-NONONO!" Levi yelled as Eren backed up a step and leapt off the edge of the waterfall.

.............................................

This kid really was going to be the death of him, Levi thought frantically as Eren ran forward. He was so dead. Eren's enormous hand folded around him, blocking most of his line of sight.

Eren leapt forward. Levi's stomach stayed somewhere on the level of the cliff as the rest of him fell almost straight down. Even the curse couldn't compete with sheer terror, Levi learned. Levi clamped his arms around one of Eren's fingers as Eren twisted in midair, landing a second later with a gigantic SPLASH. Cold, cold water flooded between Eren's fingers, and Levi sputtered and coughed. The hand under him moved, lifting and depositing Levi on the bank near the cabin door.

Dirty. Dirty. Levi wiped river water out of his eyes and not-quite-ran to the cabin, shedding clothes as he went.

He washed as fast as he could, long practice streamlining the process. However, he was NOT going to make the same mistake as last time. there was a chest in the bathroom that held spare clothes, and Levi tugged on the first items he found before walking into the kitchen area.

Hanji sat at the table, muttering to herself. "But if arms come in pairs and legs come in pairs, then unpairing the two could unbalance the formula..." Across from her, at Levi's normal place, was Erwin. He was still out cold, still completely limbless, tied to the chair by what looked like Levi's dirty shirt.

"Hey." Hanji looked up, frowning.

"Hey! I'm trying to figure out if I can put just his legs back on. Wanna help?"

Levi shook his head. "Is Eren...?"

Hanji's eyes lit up at the mention. "Ooh! It was the weirdest thing! As soon as he put you down, he just popped right out of the Titan body like he'd done it a million times! But he's asleep again. This cabin's a regular snoozefest right now."

Levi tried not to be obvious as he glanced toward the open door to Hanji's room. The bed lay empty. "He's in my room again." Either that or Hanji'd made him sleep with the pigeon, which Levi doubted. He walked to his door and peeked in. A familiar shape in a familiar place. Levi felt heat rising to his face as he thought it.

"Levi." Hanji's tone was serious, so he turned back to face her. She was watching him with a too-knowing look. "You... You like Eren."

Levi crossed his arms, not looking at her. "Of course I like the kid."

"LIKE him, Levi. You know what I mean."

Levi's heartrate sped. Hanji was too damn observant. Rather than answer, he walked over to Erwin and knelt down. "So how long do you think this idiot's going to be out? It can't be healthy for him."

"Levi-" Erwin chose that moment to stir. "Oh, for the love."

Levi took a step back as Erwin's eyelids fluttered open. "Ngh..."

"Try not to move too much," Levi told him. "You're kind of precariously balanced."

Erwin looked at him with unfocused eyes for long enough that Levi started to worry there had been permanent damage done. But then recognition clicked, and Erwin straightened, looking down at himself. "You tied me up? I... where are my arms?"

Hanji waved cheerily, catching Erwin's attention. "That was me. Sorry. I'm no good when rushed. I'll find a way to put you back together, but in the meantime you kept falling out of the chair. Sorry about that!" Erwin groaned.

"But now might be a good time for us to have a little chat," Levi continued smoothly. "Like about what you're doing here and why you're so gung-ho about 'rescuing' me." Levi leaned against the table, glaring at Erwin. "Just to make it completely clear. I am cursed. I am living just fine. I like it out here. I do not need rescuing. Got it?"

Erwin closed his eyes, slumping against the table. "So you were telling the truth. Well, damn. I don't supposed that counts as a good deed, then."

Levi sighed. "If I pretend I know what you blathering about, can we get to the explanation?"

Erwin was quiet for a moment. "I'm Erwin, Crown Prince of Rose." Levi nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "I'm the oldest of four princes, which makes life... interesting. Royal law in Rose dictates that if there's more than one capable heir, they have to prove themselves worthy of ruling by doing an irreproducable good deed. I want to rule."

Hanji tapped her fingernails on the wood table. "Irreproducable. So not like giving an old woman a piece of bread." Erwin nodded.

"I figured that freeing the Cursed Princess of Sina would be perfect, because once she was free no one else could free her."

Levi groaned. "That.. was actually a good idea." A glimmer of an idea was forming in the back of Levi's head, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go through with it. Did he dare?

Erwin looked down at the table. "It was. But if you're sure you wouldn't benefit, then I guess I'm back to the drawing board."

Life was meant to be lived impulsively, right? Levi took a deep breath. "I've got another idea for you." Erwin immediately perked up. "You know Maria?"

"It's empty. What about it?"

Levi smirked. "Wanna help me rebuild it?"

Hanji choked. "Levi! I thought you'd given up on that!"

Levi tilted his head. "I don't remember ever saying that. Look at it this way. It WAS impossible. But now we've got a Titan that can help. And if Erwin decides to help..."

Erwin looked like he was thinking hard. "I... I..." His mouth firmed into a straight line. "Alright. I'll lend you a hand."

Hanji coughed lightly. "Ah, you have to have a hand to lend one, Prince." Erwin looked down at himself again.

"Oh. Right."


	11. Bangs and boobs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... took forever. OTL I got distracted by real life, Pokemon, and Critical. Ah, well. Hopefully it's worth the wait!

Mikasa stood on the edge of Maria, whole body shaking, staring up at the Tripoint. The setting sun set it aglow in pinks and oranges. She looked out across the lands, turning slowly on the spot. Rose. Gently sloping hills. Sina. Fierce mountains. Maria. Wasteland. She fell to her knees as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

She was alone.

Armin huddled in a tight ball in one of his cubicles as the night got colder. Frost invaded his space, tracing delicate white lines across his walls. He shuddered and pulled himself in tighter, tears running down his face.

He was alone.

..............................................

Eren woke, gasping for breath. His heart pounded and his eyes burned as the dream faded. Eren threw his arm over his eyes, shuddering and trying not to cry. Armin. Mikasa. He had to get back to them. They needed him.

How long had he been here? Eren tried to count it up in his head, but he'd been asleep so much he couldn't be sure. At least a week. Mikasa would be so worried. He thought about their goodbye, the desperation in her voice when she told him to come back. Losing him would kill her.

He had to go back.

Heart heavy, Eren sat up.

BANG. Eren jumped out of bed, looking frantically around. BANG. The noise came from the kitchen. Eren opened the door and ran out into the main room. Hanji stood next to the table, and Levi sat not far away. In the other chair... Eren made a little squeaky noise. Levi turned to face him.

“Huh. That was fast. How are you feeling?” Hanji was muttering and grumbling, dashing into the kitchen for an unidentifiable object. “She's trying to fix Erwin. Getting close now, too.”

Eren looked from Levi to the white poodle sitting dejectedly in the other chair. A thick, bushy tail rose incongruously behind it. “That's close?!”

Levi shrugged. “Mammal. Last time he was a cactus.”

“Aha! Maybe this one!” Hanji ran back over to Erwin and murmured something quietly.

“Might want to get something to eat, this may be a while.”

BANG. A purple puff of smoke enveloped Erwin. “Dammit Levi, don't distract me!” Erwin had transformed into a giant loaf of bread. Bizarrely, the sight made Eren's mouth water. Another BANG later, the poodle-squirrel was back.

“Uh.” Eren said intelligently.

BANG. Another puff, and the poodle turned into a fork. “Well, shit.” Hanji flipped quickly through a ragged little book. “Metal, metal...”

“Maybe we should go out of the kitchen?” Eren murmured. Levi shrugged.

“Wouldn't make a difference. Outside she'd be turning him into flowers. She better turn him into something with lungs soon, though, it's damn uncomfortable not being able to breathe.” He said it with the solid conviction of past experience. BANG. 

“S-Stop stop stop!” Erwin's voice was breathless and high-pitched. “For the love of my sanity, please stop!” The puff had been a lot bigger this time, and as the smoke cleared Eren catalogued body parts. Two arms, two legs, two eyes, two... Eren's eyes widened.

“Is he supposed to have breasts?”

Silence.

Erwin looked down at his chest and turned red. Levi rubbed a hand over his eyes like he had a headache. Hanji peered down at Erwin's chest, too, and hmmed. “Well, you've got your limbs back.”

“Thank you.” Erwin's voice was indeed higher pitched. “I'll wait until we can find someone else to change me completely back.” His hands hovered over his new additions, not quite daring to touch. “I-ah.” He cleared his throat. “Bathroom?” Hanji led the way, and Erwin beat a hasty retreat.

“That didn't take too long.” Levi leaned back in his chair, grinning at Eren. “When he comes back, we HAVE to call him princess. He can go through the same shit I did, and he's got less reason to be mad, too.” Eren smiled weakly, and Levi noticed. The smile slid off his face. “Hey. You okay?”

Eren sat in the chair that Erwin had just vacated. “Bad dream, that's all. Hey, Levi...” Eren gulped. “How long has it been? Since you found me, I mean.” Please don't say more than two weeks, he thought desperately. It can't be more than two weeks.

Levi frowned thoughtfully. “It's been... eleven days.” Eren sagged over on the table in relief. “Why?”

Hanji returned. “Well, he's going to bathe and, ah, acquaint himself with his new body. So, in the meantime, who's hungry?” Levi waved irritably at her, and she got the hint.

“Eren?”

He swallowed hard. “It's just... I... I kind of promised my sister I'd be back in Maria two weeks from the day I left. She's... well... I'm all she has to live for.” His face heated up as he stared down at the table. “If I don't go back...”

“How long before we met did you leave?” Levi's forehead was doing that little crease it did when he thought hard.

“Night before.”

Silence fell. The only sounds in the room were the noises Hanji made while picking up the various debris from around her spellcasting area. Eren looked at Levi. Levi looked at Eren. Finally, Levi sighed.

“Eren.” He ran a hand through his hair distractedly, making it stick up in weird directions. “I...”

“I'm really grateful.” Eren cut him off. “But Maria's my home and I can't just-”

“-haven't been completely straight with you. I think-” 

“-and Mikasa's my family, I mean practically and she dotes on me-”

“EREN.” Levi cut off Eren's babble. “What I'm trying to say is I want to come with you. To Maria.”

Eren gaped at him, mouth opening and closing like a landed fish. Levi? In Maria? Does not compute. “B-B-But your curse!”

Levi glared at him. “I'm not saying I'll just waltz in, it'll take planning and preparation, but I want to help you.” Maybe it was just Eren's imagination, but Levi's cheeks turned just a little darker as he looked away. “I want to help you.” He repeated a little quieter. Behind Eren, Hange's grin grew.

Eren was once again struck dumb. He'd known Levi was kind of invested in keeping Eren alive at this point, but wanting to go to Maria went way beyond that. “Why? Why would you do that for me?” Definitely not his imagination, Levi's face was getting pink.

“That doesn't matter. And I'm not the only one who wants to help you. Erwin's agreed to help, too.”

For a moment, it didn't click. “Erwin?” Eren stiffened. “Erwin?! He wants- How-What...” Hange giggled.

“Somewhere between amputee and poodle we had a discussion.” Levi said wryly. “He's promised to behave himself and he wants to help Maria get established again.”

“It's quite the project, so the more hands we have, the better.” Hange added.

“But...” Resentment bubbled up from deep inside Eren. “You're... okay with this?” Eren dug his fingers into the edge of the table. “He freaking kidnapped you! Knocked you out and tossed you over his shoulder like a sack of veggies! And now you're best buds?”

“Whoa, Eren, chill.” Levi held his hands up placatingly. “First off, it was all a misunderstanding. Second off, I nailed him pretty damn hard in the face. I figure it evens out. We're not best buds by any means, but we can work together.”

“I meant to ask you,” Erwin's new voice made Eren swivel in his chair, “how you managed that. I researched your curse fairly extensively and I didn't think it would be possible for you to fight back.” He, or was it she, had on what would have been a baggy shirt for Mike. On Erwin, it strained the limit of being too tight. One of his cheeks was turning dark with a large bruise. Erwin leaned against the doorframe, staying cautiously back from the table.

At that, Levi grinned, suddenly looking Eren's age. “Ah. You didn't figure it out?” He waited a beat, but Erwin shook his (her) head. “Well. It's simple. I cleaned your clock.”

Eren and Erwin groaned in perfect harmony. Eren jumped a little, then glared openly at Erwin. Erwin merely looked coolly back at him.

“Your name is... Eren?” Eren nodded stiffly. “First, my apologies. I may have been laboring under a misunderstanding, but I gave you grief because of it. I promise you I have no designs on kidnapping Levi again.”

“Good.” Eren turned pointedly away from Erwin, toward Hange. “Can I help with dinner?” He heard Levi sigh, but there was no way he was just going to forgive Erwin just like that.

If it hadn't been for Erwin, Eren would still be normal.

As he chopped vegetables for the night's stew, he sorted through his thoughts and emotions. He was still pretty iffy on the whole Titan thing. On one hand, he became a giant almost-invincible creature that fed off sunlight. That was pretty cool, in abstract. On the other hand... he shivered, mind flashing back to a smaller Eren staring out the window as monsters destroyed Maria. It was weeks, months before the full damage was realized. He was one of those. The things that reduced Maria to ash and dust. That stranded thousands of people. That killed all the joy he had been surrounded by for the first eight years of his life.

“Eren, that's enough!” Eren jerked back to reality at the sound of Hange's voice in his ear. He looked down at the knife in his hand. “The recipe calls for potatoes, not potato pulp!”

“Ah! I'm sorry!” Eren dropped the knife and stepped away from the counter, eyes wide. “I was... thinking...”

“Can you come over here, Eren?” Levi called him over to the table, where he and Erwin had been deep in discussion. A hastily gathered crate and a barrel doubled the seating in the kitchen, so Eren perched on top of the barrel. He eyed Erwin distrustfully. Sheets of paper lay scattered on the table top, half-sketched maps and plans covering them. “Eren. Hey. Focus.” Eren turned to Levi.

“What's up?”

Levi sighed. “It's going to be really hard if we have to keep running back here for every little thing. Is there somewhere not far from your side of the border we could use as a base?”

Eren thought. “Um...” Honestly, he hadn't been paying much attention when he'd crossed. “It was getting dark when I came over. But...” He bit his lip. How sure was he? “I think there's a farmhouse right near the border. I at least saw a barn, so there should be a house there.” Levi's lips thinned, and guilt flooded Eren. “I'm sorry, I should know for sure. The barn's in sight of the Tripoint, though.”

“Well, it's something. With any luck the well will still be good. If I've got water and fuel to burn, I'll survive. I'll make up a basket of my cleaning supplies and hopefully they're enough for the house.” Levi shivered. “I...” Something shifted in his expression, something Eren was starting to recognize. “I'll be right back.” He pushed out of the chair and stalked into the project room.

Erwin glanced askance. Eren frowned at him, but grudgingly said, “The curse. He needs to clean something.”

“Ah.”

Hange got out a kettle with an unnecessarily loud clang. “He can push it off, if he needs to, but I'm guessing he's saving his strength.” She shook her head. “Going to Maria... I hope he can manage. I hated tying him up, but if I have to I will.”

Mike returned while Levi was still cleaning, walking in to an uncomfortably tense silence between Erwin and Eren. Hange waved cheerily at him. “Hey, Mike! Can you give our newcomer a sniff? It's kind of a long story, but she's an ally now.” Eren snorted. “Eren, please.”

Mike moved warily closer. “Why is she wearing my shirt?”

“My armor doesn't fit any more.” Erwin said glumly. “When you say sniff-”

“She's the crown princess of Rose.” Eren interjected. He didn't bother hiding his grin as Erwin glared at him. Finally! He was starting to wonder what it would take to get a reaction out of him. Mike moved behind Erwin, who eyed him warily. 

“Pardon me, Princess. This will only take a moment.” Eren bit his lip, stomach quivering. Mike inhaled deeply. “Thank you, Princess.” Eren bit his hand to keep from laughing out loud.

BOOM.


End file.
